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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22719202">Blind Optimism</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/praypals/pseuds/praypals'>praypals</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Fake AH Crew, M/M, not exactly enemies to friends to lovers but ryan does hate jeremy at first</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 15:36:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>29,838</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22719202</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/praypals/pseuds/praypals</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryan had met a lot of police officers in his life. Some were good, some were bad. Some were wildly corrupt. Some were rather neutral. Some were like Ryan- secretly an assassin and spy for a powerful and notorious gang that has several parts of the city under its control. Ryan had always been very good at finding out what side other police officers were on.</p>
<p>	And then he met the new recruit.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jeremy Dooley/Ryan Haywood</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>161</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ryan had met a lot of police officers in his life. Some were good, some were bad. Some were wildly corrupt. Some were rather neutral. Some were like Ryan- secretly an assassin and spy for a powerful and notorious gang that has several parts of the city under its control. Ryan had always been very good at finding out what side other police officers were on.</p><p>And then he met the new recruit.</p><p>This new recruit was very talented and apparently had been regarded very highly by his fellow employees at the last police department he worked at. He had been at some soft east side city with a low crime rate, but apparently he was ever so talented, so he got a “promotion” and was transferred all the way to Los Santos.</p><p>Los Santos gets a bad rep for a good reason. The city has one of the highest crime rates in America and is overrun with criminals and gangs and corrupt police. You can hardly turn a corner without witnessing some sort of crime. Ryan couldn’t tell if the new recruit was unaware of this, if he was so desperate to prove himself that he didn’t care, or if he was just happy to have the chance to finally see some action.</p><p>Ryan didn’t think he or any of the other LSPD officers had ever heard someone sound so genuinely happy to be there. It was really rather jarring. The recruit didn’t stop smiling the entire time he was being introduced, and even when the Captain of the station forgot his name immediately (which Ryan suspected was actually on purpose as a way to try and break him) the man never even faltered. He just said, in his cheery and naive voice,</p><p>“Jeremy Dooley, sir.”</p><p>The man was almost trembling with excitement, like he still couldn’t quite believe he was there. Ryan didn’t understand how someone could sound so happy while just saying their own name. And when Jeremy was quickly ushered to his desk to start working with hardly any information on what to get started with, he just smiled and sat down with no argument. It was a strange sight for Ryan, who had been working with the LSPD and their negative attitudes for several years.</p><p>But Ryan didn’t actually get annoyed until the man turned to look at him, as if to say something, but stayed silent and just stared at him expectantly. After a few moments, he cleared his throat so Ryan gave in and turned toward him with a sigh. The man immediately held his hand out for a handshake.</p><p>“What do you want, Dooley?” Ryan said in a bored voice, disregarding the latter’s hand.</p><p>“Well, since we’re going to be working right next to each other, I figured we might as well get acquainted with one another,” Jeremy responded without missing a beat, his hand still hovering as he waited for Ryan to shake it.</p><p>Perhaps Ryan had been purposefully trying to get a little bit of a rise out of him, or perhaps he just wanted to test how long the man could keep up that naive optimism, but he was rather irritated when Jeremy’s smile once again didn’t falter. Begrudgingly, Ryan shook Jeremy’s hand then turned back to his own paperwork.</p><p>“You can refer to me as Haywood. We don’t really use first names around here,” he eventually responded without sparing a glance toward the younger man.</p><p>Jeremy nodded thoughtfully, then glanced at his mostly empty desk. He seemed to not know what to do, Ryan noticed. After a minute of Jeremy staring blankly at his desk with a small stupid smile on his face, Ryan groaned and turned to look at him again.</p><p>“Look, can you just-”</p><p>He was cut off by the captain’s booming voice calling him and Jeremy to his office. Jeremy looked surprised, but, much to Ryan’s annoyance, pleasantly so. Ryan stood up with a sigh.</p><p>“C’mon Dooley, best not make Cap wait so long,” he said to Jeremy, who nodded and smiled again.</p><p>That stupid smile was really getting on Ryan’s nerves. Anyone that optimistic <em> had </em>to be hiding something, right? Ryan just needed to figure out exactly what that was.</p><p>When they entered the office, their captain was sitting at his desk with a very grim expression on his face. Ryan’s eyebrows furrowed in concern, then he glanced at Jeremy who was looking at perky as ever.</p><p>“We just lost two of our men in an attempted bust. They acted foolishly and without permission, attempting to catch an entire gang by themselves,” the captain began grimly.</p><p>Ryan’s stomach twisted with dread. He didn’t need any more information to know exactly what situation his supervisor was referring to.</p><p>“One of them is currently in the hospital with very serious injuries. The other didn’t make it,” their captain continued, “and so we need two people to replace them in the investigation. I assume you are well aware of the gang I’m referring to, Haywood.”</p><p>Ryan nodded slowly, swallowing hard.</p><p>“The Fake AH Crew, I presume,” he said quietly.</p><p>The captain nodded, confirming Ryan’s worst fears.</p><p><em> Well isn’t this just fucking swell. Poor Dooley. Poor stupid little young optimistic Dooley. There’s no way they can put him on this case so fast, </em>Ryan thought to himself. He suddenly felt queasy and his balance wavered for a moment.</p><p>“Er… I need to sit down,” he muttered weakly.</p><p>Jeremy glanced at him in concern, the smile finally slipping off his face, if only just a little. He turned back to their captain with a slight touch of a frown threatening to ruin that ever-so-optimistic expression on his face.</p><p>“I’m sorry, what exactly is this Fake AH Crew? And what’s so scary about them?” he added, looking at the pale Ryan who had now taken a seat.</p><p>“I’m not scared of them, I’ve just had some… Bad experiences with them.” Ryan snapped, choosing his last few words slowly.</p><p>“They’re an incredibly dangerous gang that we’ve been having trouble with for several years. They started off small, robbing gas stations and such, but now seem to take pleasure in much bigger and very meticulously planned operations,” the captain explained.</p><p>Ryan had to hold back laughter. The crew’s heists were hardly meticulous. In fact, their members often wouldn’t even follow the plan, leading to almost getting caught many times. But they were still very good and, even if just by luck, they always got away.</p><p>“So, may I ask why I’m here? I thought I was already part of the investigation,” Ryan questioned, frowning.</p><p>“That’s exactly the reason. You’re just the tech guy, yes? Never going out in the field for this particular case?” the captain responded, then waited for Ryan to confirm.</p><p>“Well, yes, but-”</p><p>“I’ve decided to give you a bigger role in this investigation. And Mr. Dooley here will be joining you.”</p><p>Ryan didn’t notice the second part as he was preoccupied by the thought that filled him from the first. He didn’t want a bigger role in this investigation. He was content with just being the tech guy, helping with the equipment and computers so his fellow officers could go out and try to find evidence instead. He normally didn’t mind going out in the field, but with this case it meant it would be much more difficult to do his job. His other job, that is.</p><p>The Fake AH Crew was Ryan’s home. He had been working there for almost as long as he’d had his job at the LSPD. Police work was much too tedious for Ryan. And it was also much too lawful. Once he heard of the Fakes, who were much smaller and less organized at the time, he had immediately wanted in.</p><p>It was easy back then. All he had to do was spread a little whisper about him being a dirty cop with admirable knife skills, and the crew quickly picked him up. They were suspicious at first, unsure if Ryan was actually going against the police or if he was sent there to spy on them, but Ryan very quickly proved his loyalty to the crew. He had been a member ever since. The rumors had made it to the station by that point, but Ryan was young and clever and no incriminating evidence was ever found against him.</p><p>Jeremy stole a glance at Ryan, who seemed to be lost in thought. A smile played at the older man’s lips, but it was barely noticeable and Jeremy wondered for a moment if he had imagined it. Suddenly the two men were both jolted out of their thoughts by the captain clearing his throat loudly.</p><p>“Did you hear me, Haywood?” he said, frowning.</p><p>“Er, I’m sorry, I must’ve missed that last part,” Ryan mumbled in apology.</p><p>The captain shot him a disapproving look and Ryan grimaced. It wasn’t like him to zone off like that.</p><p>“I said that Dooley is going to be joining you.”</p><p>Ryan blinked in surprise and shot to his feet.</p><p>“Cap, with all due respect, I don’t think Dooley is re-”</p><p>“<em>With all due respect, </em>Haywood, sit your ass down and listen to me. I think Dooley is perfectly capable of handling himself. And besides, he’s new to Los Santos and I believe we need a fresh pair of eyes on the case,” the captain’s voice boomed in response.</p><p>Ryan groaned internally, frowning at the look of pride of his new partner’s face. His captain was right, of course, but it killed Ryan to know that he would have to work side-by-side with that stupidly happy man. Especially on a case such as this, Ryan thought, where he himself was literally one of the perpetrators.</p><p>The captain slid the case file across his desk toward the two officers. Jeremy went to pick it up, but Ryan was faster. He snatched the thick file up and glanced through it, then turned to leave the office. Jeremy followed him with a smile.</p><p>“So what are they like? The crew, I mean.” Jeremy asked as they sat down.</p><p>Ryan scoffed.</p><p>“You make it sound as though I’ve met them,” he responded.</p><p>Jeremy shrugged, a small smile once again playing at his lips for a reason unbeknownst to Ryan. Ryan wanted nothing more than to punch that stupid smile.</p><p>“Well you said you’ve had some bad experiences with them. I suppose I don’t know exactly what that means,” Jeremy explained.</p><p>Ryan rolled his eyes.</p><p>“Yeah, I had to listen to my men get shot down while not being able to go out and do anything about it. These guys aren’t nice, they’ll kill you without a second thought.”</p><p>Ryan knew that last part was a lie. His crew members were actually rather nice, and they were really fun to be around. He was actually possibly the least nice of them all, and definitely the least likely to hesitate while murdering someone or even feel any sort of guilt after. It was why he was an assassin.</p><p>Jeremy smiled when Ryan finished speaking and nodded almost enthusiastically.</p><p><em> What the fuck is wrong with this guy? </em>Ryan wondered. Nothing seemed to faze him so far, and it was making Ryan incredibly uncomfortable and annoyed. But he was sure that there must be some way to get Jeremy to break, and he was set on finding that out.</p><p>
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</p><p>Unfortunately for Ryan, it was taking much longer than he anticipated. He and Jeremy had now gone out in the field together several times now, never finding much action (thanks to Ryan tipping the crew off, of course). The worst they had encountered was some guy who shot at them for no reason, almost hitting Jeremy in the shoulder.</p><p>But Jeremy remained optimistic. They had hit so many dead ends, but Ryan could tell Jeremy was still sure they would eventually find the gang and take them down.</p><p>There hadn’t been a heist in a while, considering Ryan would be expected to be one of the officers to chase after the crew. He was one of the best the crew had and they couldn’t risk him getting found out or not being able to participate in the heist. Ryan missed heisting and tried hard to get off the case, to no avail. It was pissing him off.</p><p>Jeremy seemed to notice how tense Ryan was and tried to ask him about it once. Ryan had snapped and told him off, but Jeremy hadn’t even frowned. And as much as Ryan hated to admit it, Jeremy’s unwavering optimism was bothering him even more than the fact he couldn’t heist.</p><p>Then, finally, as if it was a miracle, they got called into the captain’s office to discuss a new possible addition to the case file.</p><p>Ryan was dreading it at first, praying they hadn’t found any actual valuable information, but that fear quickly diminished when the captain slid them a picture of a man Ryan didn’t recognize.</p><p>“There’s a new car thief out and about in Los Santos. We suspect he may have something to do with the Fake AH Crew. There’s a possibility he may even be a new member,” their captain explained.</p><p>Ryan studied the picture. The man looked short, maybe around Jeremy’s height, and he was wearing a ridiculous getup with an orange shirt, a purple suit jacket, yellow pants, a yellow mask, and a cowboy hat to top it all off. Ryan almost started laughing at the absurdity of it.</p><p>“The crew is careful, though, and they tend to try to avoid unnecessary attention until they strike. Do you really think they’d let someone with such an attention-grabbing appearance join them? Besides, if he just started and he’s already been caught on film then he’s clearly an amateur,” he said instead.</p><p>Jeremy grew very tense next to him. Ryan glanced over to look at the younger man, and his heart leaped with satisfaction. Finally, that stupid smile was gone from the man’s face, replaced with a stony expression as the man pressed his lips together to form a thin line. There was a moment of silence as the captain nodded, pondering what Ryan had said. Then Jeremy broke the silence.</p><p>“Unless.”</p><p>Ryan and their captain glanced at him in surprise, then the captain motioned for him to continue.</p><p>“Unless he’s trying to be noticed,” Jeremy finished.</p><p>Ryan cursed Jeremy for having such a good idea. It was entirely possible, considering the strange eye-catching getup and the carelessness around security cameras. Of course it made sense. But even as Ryan’s frustration grew, he still felt satisfied. And then he felt confused.</p><p>Why did this make Jeremy so tense? What about that strange thief made Jeremy so uncomfortable? It was uncharacteristic for the generally overly optimistic man. Ryan’s mind wandered once again as he pondered the secrets Jeremy must be hiding behind his stupidly happy facade.</p><p>
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</p><p>That night, when Ryan retired back to the crew’s penthouse, he was still thinking about Jeremy. He was quickly brought out of his thoughts as he saw Geoff waiting for him, arms crossed. </p><p>“We’re having a meeting. Put your mask on,” Geoff said, then turned to walk away.</p><p>Ryan felt his chest tighten with excitement. He had been working in the field on this case for several months now, and it felt like it had been forever since he had been a part of something exciting with the crew. He was feeling restless and his hands itched to be able to use his knives again.</p><p>He quickly got ready, changing out of his work uniform and into his normal outfit. It felt good to put his leather jacket back on, and he smiled as he slid it over his arms. Then he grabbed his skull mask and placed it on his face. A low laugh escaped from him. God, he had missed this.</p><p>He approached the meeting room and noticed several other crew members were also hiding their faces in some way or another, and Geoff wasn’t there. Ryan wondered why for a moment as he took his seat by the table, then his question was answered as Geoff entered with a familiar-looking man.</p><p>“Everyone, this is Rimmy Tim. He’s part of our crew now,” Geoff explained.</p><p>Ryan stared at the man, speechless. It was the same man from the picture he saw earlier, with the stupidly noticeable outfit and that incredibly ridiculous cowboy hat. Studying him carefully as several of the other crew members stood to shake his hand, Ryan noticed something about this Rimmy Tim guy seemed oddly familiar. He ignored the feeling, however, guessing it was just because he had seen his picture earlier today.</p><p>Ryan then realized with some annoyance that Jeremy had been completely right about this guy. He had been trying to get noticed so he could join the crew, just like Ryan had all those years ago. He must actually be pretty good, though, because the crew didn’t hire new people easily.</p><p>For a moment, Ryan forgot he had been staring at Rimmy Tim, then he realized the man was staring back. Their eyes locked and Ryan felt that sense of familiarity again. Geoff was introducing the others, but Rimmy Tim continued to keep his eyes on Ryan for some reason.</p><p>“... and that’s our assassin, Vagabond,” Geoff finished, pointing at Ryan.</p><p>Ryan gave a short nod, then tore his gaze away from the car thief.</p><p>“He seems cold, but he’s a big softie once you get to know him,” Geoff teased.</p><p>Ryan turned to look at Geoff, wishing the man could see him glaring from behind his mask.</p><p>“Ha, soft?” Michael snickered. “I’ve seen the guy laugh while blowing up ten people at once and smile while slitting someone’s throat. Doesn’t seem very soft to me.”</p><p>Ryan grinned and gave Michael a high five.</p><p>“That explosion was one of the most beautiful and satisfying moments of my entire life,” Ryan responded, voice muffled by the mask on his face.</p><p>Then, without thinking, he turned to look at Rimmy Tim again. The man was wearing sunglasses, but Ryan could swear that, just for a moment, he saw the corners of his eyes crinkle.</p><p>The man was smiling.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ryan didn’t want to go to work the next day, but he knew it was necessary so he dragged himself out of bed and got ready. Even though there wasn’t any possible way for Jeremy to know how correct he had been about the Rimmy Tim situation, Ryan dreaded having to face his coworker with that knowledge in his head.</p><p>When he arrived at the station he immediately went to his desk and slumped down in his chair, not speaking to anyone. Jeremy was already there, and Ryan didn’t even want to look at him. Jeremy either didn’t notice this or he didn’t care, because he immediately started talking to Ryan.</p><p>“Hey, so, I noticed the Fake AH Crew hasn’t seemed very active lately. I was wondering if you had any ideas as to why,” he said, scooting his chair closer to Ryan.</p><p>Ryan shot him a death glare and didn’t answer. Jeremy just raised his eyebrows and smiled, tilting his head just slightly to the side. Ryan gritted his teeth, more annoyed than ever at his new partner.</p><p>“I don’t know and I really couldn’t care less right now. Figure it out yourself,” Ryan snapped.</p><p>“Okaaay but we’re working this case together, so I was kinda hoping you would actually try to help me out,” Jeremy responded.</p><p>“Maybe they’re just taking a break, Dooley. Now please shut your mouth and leave me alone for just one day,” Ryan said, slamming his hand on the table.</p><p>“But what if they’re planning someth-”</p><p>“Please, for the love of God, shut up. Maybe they just lost a member or something. That Vagabond guy hasn’t been seen in a while, right? So just calm down, you’re overreacting.”</p><p>Ryan hated how close to the truth what he just said was. Jeremy didn’t respond, but instead just nodded, smiling once again. Ryan had now officially had enough of that stupid smile.</p><p>“Is this a fucking joke to you?” he snapped.</p><p>Several of their coworkers turned toward him in surprise at his sudden outburst. Jeremy raised his eyebrows in shock.</p><p>“What do you mean? I’m just trying to be-”</p><p>“Optimistic? Positive? Well let me fucking tell you, Dooley, there’s nothing positive about this situation. That crew <em>kills</em> people. They steal cars, they rob places, and there’s nothing they won’t do to make sure they get their way. You need to start taking them more seriously,” Ryan growled, eyes narrowed dangerously.</p><p>“<em>I</em> should take them more seriously? I think<em> you’re</em> the one who should. You won’t even try to listen to my concerns about if they’re planning something,” Jeremy snapped back, stepping closer to the older man with his chin held high.</p><p>Ryan couldn’t handle it any longer. He felt something snap inside him as he raised his hand and swung it. It collided with Jeremy’s face with a loud smack and Jeremy let out a sharp gasp as his own hand flew up to tenderly touch his cheek. Then, to top it off, Ryan gave Jeremy a hard shove on the shoulder, causing him to stumble backward, tripping over a chair and tumbling to the floor.</p><p>A wave of satisfaction flooded over Ryan. He had to hold back a smile as he waited for his partner to recover. He crossed his arms, expecting Jeremy to stand back up, maybe even yell at him or fight back.</p><p>Instead, Jeremy laughed.</p><p>Ryan felt so angry his vision blurred. He had never wanted to kill someone over something like this before, but the feeling was almost overwhelming. He knew he couldn’t, of course, so he just clenched his fists and allowed his coworkers to pull him away from his partner, who was just sitting on the floor laughing.</p><p><em>There’s something seriously fucking wrong with this man</em>, Ryan thought angrily as he was guided toward the captain’s office. <em>He’s a goddamn manic.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Ryan threw himself onto the penthouse couch, swearing furiously under his breath. He whipped out a knife and threw it toward the ground, impaling it deep into the floor.</p><p>“Uh, you’re back early,” Gavin said warily as Ryan ripped the knife back out of the floorboard.</p><p>“I got suspended for four days,” Ryan grunted, throwing the knife into the floor again.</p><p>“Come on man, leave the floor alone,” Jack scolded.</p><p>“If I can’t stab an inanimate object then I will end up stabbing a real person,” Ryan responded, yanking his knife out of the floor and preparing to throw it once again.</p><p>Jack walked over and put her hand on Ryan’s arm to stop him from following through, then gave him a look to tell him to cut it out.</p><p>“Why are you suspended?” she asked.</p><p>“Hit a coworker and shoved him onto the floor,” Ryan replied boredly, then suddenly perked up. “Hey, since I’m suspended and won’t be expected to show up at work, can we heist?”</p><p>“Four days to plan and execute a heist? Seems like a bit of a tight deadline,” Jack said doubtfully.</p><p>“Six days. I don’t work this weekend, so it doesn’t count toward my suspension days,” Ryan responded with a mischievous smile.</p><p>Gavin perked up next to the two other crew members as Ryan ran a thumb along the side of the blade of his knife. Jack glanced between them and sighed, raising her hands in defeat.</p><p>“Look, I’ll talk to Geoff, but I can’t make any promises,” she said.</p><p>“Talk to Geoff about what?” Geoff interrupted as he walked through the door, then said, “Oh, Ryan, you’re back early, perfect. Some guy is trying to sell meth on our turf over by the garage. Go teach him a lesson, will ya?”</p><p>Geoff handed him a grainy photograph of the guy. Ryan studied it for a few moments then nodded, tucking it into his pocket.</p><p>“Would you be mad if I killed him?” Ryan asked tentatively.</p><p>“Go ahead, I guess. It might serve as a lesson for other people to not mess with us or try shit like that,” Geoff replied, shrugging. “The guy’s a real asshole anyway.”</p><p>Ryan grinned and shot to his feet. Jeremy had inspired some murderous rage in him today and he was ready to take it out on someone. He rushed to his room and quickly changed out of his uniform, happily throwing on his usual clothes and his iconic leather jacket. The man then rushed to the bathroom to apply his signature face paint, smiling at his reflection once he finished.</p><p>He walked confidently out the door, grabbing his mask on the way. There was a slight spring in his step as he descended toward the street. Sure enough, once he reached the garage, there was a man standing there, seemingly waiting for someone. The man kept glancing around nervously and Ryan smiled to himself.</p><p>“Scared of something?” Ryan asked as he approached, voice muffled through the mask.</p><p>The man immediately tried to start running, but Ryan was faster. He swiftly grabbed the man and threw him to the ground, pulling out a knife as he did so. The guy trembled as Ryan loomed over him, then knelt down beside him. Ryan pulled his mask off, revealing the skull-like face paint underneath, then let out a low and menacing chuckle.</p><p>“You should be,” he whispered.</p><p>The main tried to scream but was cut off by Ryan’s knife sliding across his throat. Ryan smiled with satisfaction. He knew killing people was a strange way to relieve stress but it had been far too long since the last time he had been able to do something illegal like this. Besides, it wasn’t like the guy would’ve done anything good for anyone in the future.</p><p>Still smiling to himself, he placed his mask back over his face and stood up. When he turned around, he saw Rimmy Tim standing about fifteen feet away from him, unmoving. When Ryan moved closer to him, he still stayed in the same spot, just staring. Ryan continued moving forward. As he brushed past, he purposefully nicked Rimmy Tim’s ring finger with the tip of his knife just for fun. He heard Rimmy mutter a curse word and felt oddly satisfied.</p><p>“Oops,” Ryan said, not bothering to glance back at the shorter man.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>A couple days later, the whole crew had a meeting. Ryan was positively trembling with anticipation as he slid his mask on (he still didn’t trust Rimmy Tim enough to show him his face, face paint or not). It had been far too long since the last heist and he was more ready than ever to fuck some bitches up. He was excited enough that he couldn’t even be annoyed when he learned that the new guy had apparently planned it.</p><p>“So,” Rimmy Tim began, “nearly 1.5 million dollars are being transported to the Los Santos Pegasus facility tomorrow. The police are aware of this and will be accompanying the truck to the facility.”</p><p>Ryan wondered briefly how Rimmy Tim knew this. Then he thought about how he probably would’ve been one of the officers accompanying the truck and just felt relieved he had been suspended.</p><p>“We’ll be working in teams of two. They’ll be approaching a tunnel near the military base around roughly 5PM, which will likely have other officers stationed around it. Michael and Gavin, you’ll set off explosives in the tunnel right before they enter it. They don’t necessarily have to kill anyone, but it could be helpful if it does,” Rimmy Tim continued.</p><p>Michael and Gavin looked at each other and high-fived.</p><p>“Fuck yeah, Team Nice Dynamite,” Michael said, grinning.</p><p>“This is mainly to cause a distraction as Geoff and Jack-”</p><p>“Team OG!” Geoff whooped.</p><p>“-sneak into the military base,” Rimmy Tim resumed speaking despite the interruption. “Once in, they will steal a cargobob and then try to lose the cops as quickly as possible. Once they’re in, Michael and Gavin will steal the truck with all the money as The Vagabond and I are taking out all the cops.”</p><p>“That’s all we’re doing?” Ryan asked at the same time Gavin said,</p><p>“What’s your team name?”</p><p>“We’re going to be swarmed with cops at that point. It’s likely we’ll need to just focus on getting Michael and Gavin out safely. Besides, I know how merciless and talented you can be, I figured you’d enjoy this. And then after that we can make a getaway on our Shotaros,” Rimmy Tim explained.</p><p>“But what’s your team name?” Gavin insisted.</p><p>“Well… What about something like Battle Buddies? Because we’ll be fighting together,” Rimmy suggested.</p><p>“I don’t consider us ‘buddies’, but it’ll work for now,” Ryan responded with a shrug, then said, “so what comes next?”</p><p>“Michael and Gavin drive the truck to meet up with the cargobob, which then picks them up and goes toward the beach. We’ll have two boats, probably Jetmaxes, placed there, ready for the getaway. Michael, Gavin, Geoff, and Jack will all take the first one and The Vagabond and I will take the second. After that, we all meet back up here at the penthouse. Plain and simple,” Rimmy Tim finished.</p><p>Ryan nodded. The plan wasn’t horrible, but it was pretty clear that Rimmy was new to all of this. It could work, though, and the Fake AH Crew had a lot of experience with escaping tight situations, so Ryan didn’t argue.</p><p>“Alright, hope you guys took notes, don’t share them with anyone, heist begins tomorrow, don’t be late. You are free to go,” Geoff said, shooing them out of the room.</p><p>They all filed out with Rimmy Tim taking up the rear, right behind Ryan. Right before the two made it to the door, Rimmy put his hand on Ryan’s shoulder to stop him quietly, then motioned for him to stay.</p><p>“I have another mission just for the two of us,” Rimmy said quietly, closing the door behind them. “There’s another drop today. Same amount. They split it up for safety reasons because of people like us. Tomorrow they’ll be guarding it at the facility, waiting for the second half to arrive. When we make our getaway on our Shotaros, we’ll lose the police as quickly as possible then go to the facility. We’ll sneak in, quietly take out as many guards as possible, take the money, and get out. Seven hundred and fifty thousand for us, two hundred and fifty thousand for everyone else. What d’ya say?”</p><p>“Why me?” Ryan asked cautiously.</p><p>“You’re obviously the most talented killer in the crew, and I have a feeling you won’t mind a little more action for a lot more money,” Rimmy Tim replied.</p><p>Ryan hesitated, then smiled under his mask. No matter how close he was to the crew, he didn’t mind working against them a little bit every once in a while. It was thrilling to be on no one’s side but your own, and Ryan appreciated that this new guy seemed to think the same way.</p><p>“I’m in.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The next morning, Ryan woke up early to get himself hyped up. Heists were his favorite part of the job and he was more ready than ever for this one. Throughout the day, there was a certain excited tension and electricity in the air. Ryan noticed he hadn’t seen Rimmy Tim at all, but didn’t think too much of it.</p><p>The pre-heist setup started at 3:30. Ryan pulled his hair back into its usual ponytail then applied his face paint and decided to put in some brown contacts so his blue eyes couldn’t be recognized. He grabbed his mask but didn’t put it on yet, instead sliding it into his bag with an assortment of firearms. He donned his leather jacket and walked out into the main room of the penthouse.</p><p>Most of the crew was already out there, ready to go. Geoff was wearing a sharp black suit, standing next to Jack who was wearing her usual shorts and Hawaiian shirt combo. Gavin was dressed in a navy blue button down shirt and black pants and was talking animatedly with Michael, who was sporting casual clothes with a brown leather jacket. The only person that was missing, Ryan noticed, was Rimmy Tim.</p><p>At that moment, Rimmy Tim walked through the door, already dressed in his bizarre orange, purple, and yellow outfit. He clapped his hands together and started talking immediately, scanning his eyes over the rest of the crew.</p><p>“Team Nice Dynamite, set up the explosives in the tunnel. Make sure you’re sneaky about it, we don’t want to call too much attention to ourselves before the heist starts. Put the bombs in places that are hard to see, then get in a good position to be able to set them off and get to the vehicle as quickly as possible once it arrives. Team OG, you have the easiest setup job. Scan the base and locate a cargobob. Stay outside the base until the bombs go off, but find a good entrance point. Vagabond, you and I will set up the getaway boats then park our Shotaros close to the tunnel and stay there. Are we all ready?”</p><p>The rest of the crew nodded, then they were out the door. The Battle Buddies drove Ryan’s car quickly to the dock, then parked and hopped out. Ryan carried what looked like a large box of some kind out to his Jetmax and slid it under the driver’s seat. Rimmy Tim looked at him oddly, but didn’t question it. The two men drove the boats to the designated spot, Ryan stopping his in a slightly inconvenient place to ensure the other four crew members took the other one.</p><p>They jogged back up toward the road, and Rimmy Tim went up to a nice-looking car that had paused at a stop sign. He yanked open the door and pulled the driver out, throwing her to the ground. Ryan slid into the passenger side and they zipped back to the penthouse garage.</p><p>They ditched the car on the side of the road and ran in, hopping on their Shotaros and speeding toward the military base. Once they had parked safely, Rimmy Tim tapped his earpiece and spoke into it.</p><p>“Is everyone set up and ready?” he asked.</p><p>“Team Nice Dynamite is ready,” Ryan heard Michael respond.</p><p>“Team OG is good to go,” Geoff added.</p><p>“Team Battle Buddies are also ready,” Rimmy said, “so now we wait.”</p><p>They luckily weren’t waiting for long. The truck arrived almost half an hour early but the crew was prepared. As it approached the tunnel, the men all held their breaths.</p><p>“Three… two… one…” Rimmy Tim breathed deeply, “Now.”</p><p>He was met with a response of several explosions inside the tunnel. The truck halted and several police officers stepped out of their vehicles to see what was going on.</p><p>“Team OG, go!” Rimmy shouted over the noise of the commotion, then added, “Nice Dynamite, go for the truck!”</p><p>He then looked meaningfully at Ryan and gave a nod. The two leapt from their positions and started shooting at the officers who were now aiming at Michael and Gavin. As the officers started falling, some of them turned to start shooting back at Ryan and Rimmy Tim. Ryan ducked as a bullet whistled over his head.</p><p>“We’re in the bob, but the police are all over us!” Jack shouted.</p><p>“They’re on us too, and more are arriving right now!” Ryan yelled back.</p><p>“We’re in the truck!” Michael announced.</p><p>Ryan and Rimmy Tim started being forced backwards by the police as the truck started moving again.</p><p>I wonder if Jeremy is out there right now, Ryan thought briefly, then nailed a headshot on an officer that had started trying to run toward them. Rimmy Tim locked eyes with Ryan for a moment as the truck started to pick up speed, then Ryan pulled out two grenades and yanked the pins out before throwing them toward the police cars. They exploded one after another and the two men turned and ran back to their Shotaros.</p><p>“Holy shit, what was that?” Gavin exclaimed.</p><p>“Don’t worry about it, just go!” Rimmy Tim shouted. “Follow the train tracks to the tunnel and try to lose the cops in there! There shouldn’t be a train coming for at least an hour!”</p><p>“Shit, there are helicopters coming after us!” Jack yelled in a panicked voice.</p><p>“You keep flying, I’ll try to shoot them out of the air!” Geoff responded.</p><p>“Rimmy, follow me!” Ryan shouted at the man next to him.</p><p>He and Rimmy Tim were now flying down the road on their motorcycles. Ryan took a sharp turn off the road to the left and Rimmy followed suit. They drove for a while on the rough terrain, which slowed the police cars down a considerable amount. Eventually they were out of sight, and Ryan slid his bike into a tunnel over an abandoned railroad, slowing to a stop. Rimmy Tim was following close behind and pulled up next to him. They sat for a few moments, breathing hard and saying nothing.</p><p>“I think we lost the cops. They can’t see us in here,” Michael spoke into the earpiece.</p><p>“We aren’t completely in the clear yet, but none are directly on our tail right now,” Jack responded.</p><p>“They’re definitely still on our tail,” Ryan said breathlessly, giving Rimmy Tim a quick nod, “so just go to the boat and take off once you’re good to go. We’ll meet up with you as soon as we can.”</p><p>Rimmy Tim turned to Ryan and motioned with his head. They drove through the tunnel and emerged out the other side, police nowhere in sight. They began to head toward the Pegasus facility, saying nothing to the rest of the crew.</p><p>“We’re all at the boat now,” Gavin announced.</p><p>“Go on ahead without us, the cops are still right behind us,” Rimmy Tim shouted, acting panicked and out of breath. “They just won’t let up, they keep fucking coming out of nowhere!”</p><p>Ryan grinned. He had to give it to the new guy, he did sound awfully convincing. He could definitely appreciate someone who could lie that well.</p><p>Ryan reached up and turned off his earpiece as they drove up to the Pegasus facility, then noticed Rimmy Tim do the same. They parked their bikes out of sight and stealthily approached on foot. They glanced at each other as they got closer to the guards out front.</p><p>“You get the one on the left, I’ll get the one on the right,” Ryan whispered, pulling out a large knife.</p><p>Rimmy Tim nodded and silently snuck up behind the left guard as Ryan slid behind the other one. Ryan gave a quick nod to Rimmy and they covered the guard’s mouths and slit their throats in perfect unison. Ryan felt a rush of satisfaction and grinned underneath his mask. They then snuck inside and headed in opposite directions.</p><p>The two men stuck to the shadows, being extremely careful to not be seen. Ryan spotted four guards standing around a doorway. He and Rimmy Tim looked at each other and both aimed their guns at the men. Without even needing to signal each other, they both started shooting.</p><p>Two, three, four shots. The guards all crumpled to the ground and several more ran out of the room, clearly having heard the gunshots. An alarm started blaring loudly. Ryan and Rimmy Tim continued shooting until they stopped coming out, then approached the pile of limp bodies that was now outside the door.</p><p>Ryan paused outside the door then backed up almost toward the middle of the large room they were in, motioning for Rimmy Tim to do the same. He pulled a grenade out of his pocket, pulled the pin, and threw it through the door. They heard a scream, then the two men turned away and covered their heads as the grenade detonated. Rimmy Tim stumbled from the explosion and they both winced as fragments of the wall hit them in the back. Once the smoke cleared, they ran into the room. There was a large safe that had been blown wide open, and in it was a large metal briefcase that had been flung against the far wall. Rimmy walked up and grabbed it, then the two men ran back out of the facility.</p><p>They hopped on their motorcycles and sped away as police cars blared in the distance. Ryan pumped his fist in the air gleefully and yelled with joy. It had been far too long, he had missed the adrenaline and the feeling of absolute freedom to do almost anything he wanted. Rimmy Tim let out a whoop, yelling with him.</p><p>They ditched their bikes in a parking garage near the beach and ran the rest of the way, planning to come back and pick them back up later. They slid down the rocks to the beach, running and laughing all the way to the boat.</p><p>Ryan jumped on the Jetmax and ran to the front, then leaned down and pulled the large box-like thing he had placed earlier out from underneath the driver’s seat, replacing it with the briefcase as Rimmy Tim handed it to him. Rimmy then hopped into the driver’s seat as Ryan relaxed next to him.</p><p>“So what’s that?” Rimmy Tim asked, glancing at Ryan as they sped away from the beach.</p><p>Ryan grinned as he opened it up and pulled out two cans of diet coke.</p><p>“It’s an ice chest, dummy,” Ryan laughed as he tossed one of the cans to Rimmy Tim.</p><p>Rimmy Tim caught it with one hand, the other hand still on the wheel of the boat, and laughed. Ryan pulled his mask off and took a swig from his can, grinning. He pulled his hair tie out and let the breeze blow his long hair out of his face, enjoying the feeling of the light spray of water hitting his face.</p><p>Rimmy Tim looked at him again and grinned even wider under his mask.</p><p>“You look good with your hair down,” he commented, then let out another laugh.</p><p>Ryan laughed back and shook his head. He didn’t quite understand it, but there was something he found that he absolutely adored about Rimmy Tim’s laugh. It just seemed so genuine and happy. It was rather refreshing after having to deal with Jeremy’s stupid fake laugh all the time.</p><p>“So how’d I do with my first heist?” Rimmy Tim asked.</p><p>Ryan grinned and slapped him on the back.</p><p>“Not bad for a new guy.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Ryan returned to work the following Monday, feeling refreshed from his break. He walked in happily, then his mood immediately dropped as he saw Jeremy. The younger man’s face was still slightly bruised and he was scribbling furiously on a piece of paper.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ryan tried to sit down silently but he barely even had time to breathe before Jeremy snapped his head toward him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hope you’re fucking happy, Haywood. The Fake AH Crew pulled another heist and stole nearly three million dollars from Pegasus, and you couldn’t even help because you got yourself suspended,” he hissed angrily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What, no laughing? No smirking? No ‘I told you so’?” Ryan responded bitterly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeremy’s jaw dropped and he let out a huff of breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that all you can say? We could’ve been prepared for this!” he said incredulously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We </span>
  <em>
    <span>were</span>
  </em>
  <span> prepared, Dooley. I saw it on the news. The truck was surrounded by police escorts and the Pegasus facility was crawling with guards. We even had reinforcements ready in case of an incident like this. That crew has been doing this for years, they know what they’re doing,” Ryan snapped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeremy said nothing for several moments. He was fuming silently and struggling to think of a response.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was right about them planning something. And you wouldn’t listen to me,” he finally muttered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They don’t need that long to plan something like that. They could probably plan an operation as simple as that in three or four days, maybe even less. If it was something as complicated and intricate as what they usually do, I might be inclined to agree with you, but it wasn’t at all,” Ryan replied, annoyance evident in his voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I was still right about that car thief. He was with the crew during the heist,” Jeremy responded after a moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Congratulations,” Ryan said boredly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He then glanced down at Jeremy’s hand, noticing a small but somewhat deep looking cut on his left ring finger.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Odd, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he thought, </span>
  <em>
    <span>that’s where I cut Rimmy Tim the other day.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened?” Ryan asked, nodding toward the injury.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“None of your business,” Jeremy hissed, “and it’s not like you would care anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm. You’re right. I don’t care,” Ryan responded with a shrug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeremy stared at him for a while. His eyes were narrowed and he was almost trembling with anger. Ryan felt satisfied that he had finally made Jeremy this angry. It was a good feeling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I fucking hate you,” Jeremy muttered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This time, it was Ryan’s turn to smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hate you, too.”</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>The next few days following Ryan and Jeremy’s argument were incredibly tense. They had more work than usual and were constantly having to stay late to finish stuff up. Several nights were spent with the two alone in their office, ignoring each other’s existence, which was exactly how Ryan preferred it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On their fourth night of doing this, they had been once again sitting quietly, alone other than the night shift workers that passed by to go up or down the stairs to their own office every once in a while, when Jeremy finally decided to break the silence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t mean it, you know,” he said quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Didn’t mean what?” Ryan questioned, tilting his head to glance at Jeremy out of the corner of his eye.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When I said I hate you the other day. I really don’t hate you, I was just angry. Did you…?” Jeremy trailed off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did I mean it when I said I hate you? Yeah, I did,” Ryan answered straightforwardly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeremy let out a deep sigh and laughed bitterly. He rubbed his eyes tiredly then rested his face in his hands. He seemed much more weary than usual, Ryan noticed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry. I know I can be annoying,” Jeremy muttered, exhaustion in his voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not because you’re annoying, Dooley. I mean, it is a little bit, but mostly it’s because of your stupid blind optimism. You always try so hard to be optimistic and positive, but you hardly know anything about what these guys are actually capable of, and in doing that you ignore the actual dangers of this job. And it doesn’t matter what anyone else says or how hard we try, we’re never gonna catch the crew. We’ve been trying for years but all it ever leads to is us losing men that we could’ve saved by not worrying about what the crew is doing. You haven’t seen what I have. I used to fake positivity like that. Trust me when I say it’ll only cause disappointment,” Ryan explained with a bite in his voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeremy went still. He stared at his hands and didn’t respond, chewing on his lip anxiously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wish I could be like you,” he said after a while.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You- what?” Ryan looked at him in confusion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re so brave and confident,” Jeremy spoke softly, “I’ve never seen you be scared of or nervous about anything, and you always say exactly what you mean without worrying about how people will react. You don’t care about what other people think of you and you’re the most honest person I’ve ever met. I wish I could be like that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hate to tell you this,” Ryan said, frowning, “but you’re completely wrong about me. First of all, the only reason you’ve never seen me scared is because you’ve never seen anything that scares me. You haven’t seen a single thing that’s even worth being scared of, Dooley, and you need to learn that. Second of all, it’s true that I often say what I mean, but that also often backfires on me so it’s not exactly a good quality. Third, I definitely care about what other people think of me, just not when I don’t care about that person. And lastly, you’ve just got that completely backwards, it’s probably more likely that I’m the </span>
  <em>
    <span>least</span>
  </em>
  <span> honest person you’ve met. You don’t know a thing about me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Really?” Jeremy asked, confused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yup. Anyway, I’m done working for tonight,” Ryan responded curtly, gathering his belongings and standing up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll just… Stay here for a little while longer,” Jeremy said with a frown.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“G’Night, Dooley,” Ryan said as he walked out the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Night, Haywood.”</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Ryan arrived back at the penthouse and headed straight to his room. He changed out of his work attire and collapsed onto his bed, head spinning. Jeremy was even more of an idiot than he had thought. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ryan didn’t even know why he had bothered to tell all of that to Jeremy. Perhaps he thought he had just wanted the satisfaction of telling Jeremy how wrong he was about him, but for some reason he wasn’t feeling satisfied at all. No, he was feeling something much different. Was it possible that he felt…?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No. Of course he didn’t feel guilty. He had no reason to. Sure, Jeremy had said he wished he could be just like Ryan and Ryan had just confirmed he was being honest when he had said he hated Jeremy, but otherwise Ryan had absolutely no reason to feel guilty. Besides, Ryan was The Vagabond, so if he didn’t feel guilty about murdering someone then why would he feel guilty about telling someone he hated them?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But still, even as he told those things to himself, he was conflicted. He was sure he hated Jermey, so why was that stupid man confusing him and making his head spin like this?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally realizing there was no way he could sleep like this, Ryan got up and went to go talk to Geoff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He found Geoff lounging on a chair, reading. The tattooed man glanced up as Ryan approached and gave him an inquisitive look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s up, Ryan?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, first of all, don’t use my actual name right now. I don’t know if I can completely trust Rimmy Tim yet so I don’t want him to know my name,” Ryan said, frowning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Calm down, idiot, he’s not even here right now. Anyway, what do you want?” Geoff replied with a dramatic eyeroll.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh,” Ryan hesitated and sat down next to Geoff, then took a deep breath and continued, “I know I don’t really share my feelings much but I’m really confused right now, so, um, I guess I’m asking you for advice?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What exactly are you confused about?” Geoff asked, closing his book and setting it down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, I’ve told you how much I hate my partner at the station, right? And that he also said he hates me? Well, tonight he told me that he doesn’t actually hate me and that he actually wishes he could be like me. And I still despise him of course, but now I’m feeling weird about how I told him I hate him,” Ryan spilled, sounding slightly distressed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So… Denial?” Geoff suggested.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh? What do you mean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think you don’t actually hate him, but you’re so committed to the idea of hating him that you’re in denial about the fact that you might not. And it also sounds like you’re feeling guilty now, but you’re refusing to admit that to yourself, too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ryan frowned and shook his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I definitely hate him. I still want to punch him every time I think about him and there’s no way I’m feeling guilty about something this small,” he argued.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, asshole, you came to me for advice and I gave you some. If you’re just going to say I’m wrong and not even consider what I said, then I’m not helping you. Good night,” Geoff snapped, then rose out of his seat and disappeared to his room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shitty advice,” Ryan muttered to himself, then once again wandered back to his own room.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Ryan woke up late in the day, thankful that he had the day off work so he wouldn’t have to see Jeremy and be forced to deal with his conflicting emotions. It was a nice day, and he had nothing to do, so he decided to take a walk to clear his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Walking around in Los Santos was never exactly safe, what with all the crime around, but Ryan couldn’t care less. He strolled the streets absentmindedly with no particular destination in mind, aimlessly wandering wherever his feet took him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a while, he ended up at the beach and decided to rest for a moment, leaning against some tall rocks. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes for a few moments, enjoying the breeze coming off the water. He started to zone out blissfully, thankful for the break.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His calm was interrupted, however, by a voice calling his name. A very annoying voice, at that. The voice he least wanted to hear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Haywood!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ryan let out a very deep sigh. Even when he tries to escape, Jeremy fucking Dooley always finds a way to bother him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great,” he muttered, opening his eyes, “just the person I didn’t want to see.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeremy faltered for a moment, then pushed one of his stupid fake smiles back onto his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Haywood, I’m glad I found you. I just thought of something and I kinda want to hear your thoughts on it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why, Dooley? Can’t it wait until Monday when I have no choice but to speak to you?” Ryan snapped at the shorter man.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, that’s the thing, it actually has something to do with the weekend,” Jeremy responded, ignoring the bite in Ryan’s voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Walk with me,” Ryan said as he pushed himself out of his leaning position, “I want to tell you something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeremy tilted his head curiously and obliged, falling into step beside Ryan as he began to walk along the beach.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s more to life than work, you know,” Ryan began speaking, “and that’s clearly one of the many things you have yet to learn. If you completely throw yourself at your work and never spend any time on yourself, you’re gonna get sick of your job after a while. It’s tiring, Dooley. You already focus so hard while you’re on the job, you’re just gonna wear yourself out. So just give it a break for a bit, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeremy didn’t answer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know,” Ryan continued with a laugh, “It’s almost funny how similar you are to how I was a few years ago. Not exactly in personality, but just in the things you do. Stuff like faking a smile, being blindly optimistic, and now pushing yourself too hard in work.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So if right now I’m similar to how you used to be, does that mean there’s a chance I actually could be like you in the future?” Jeremy suddenly replied with a smirk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really, Dooley? That’s what you got out of that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ryan stopped walking and stared down at him in disbelief. Jeremy just shrugged in response.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ryan didn’t speak for a few moments. Instead, he studied Jeremy’s face carefully. The shorter man was gazing back up at him with an innocent look in his eyes. He was smiling just slightly and his expression was relaxed and genuine for once. He was actually rather attractive, Ryan realized.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The older man turned away abruptly and continued walking, fighting back the blush that was trying to creep into his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t want to be like me, Dooley. I’m not who you think I am,” he said finally.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean by that?” Jeremy pressed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You wouldn’t understand,” Ryan grunted with some annoyance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah? Try me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeremy stopped in his tracks and turned toward Ryan, his arms crossed over his chest. Ryan raised an eyebrow and let out a sharp laugh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re a dumbass, you know that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So are you, Haywood,” Jeremy replied with a grin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ryan rolled his eyes and smacked Jeremy lightly on the back of the head, then started walking once again. Jeremy hesitated for a moment, then took a couple of jogging strides to catch up with the older man.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If I really don’t know anything about you, then why won’t you tell me anything about yourself so I can know you better? We’re partners, after all, so shouldn’t we get to know more about each other?” Jeremy insisted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t talk about myself,” Ryan explained. “The more that people know about you, the more information they have to use against you. If you always remain somewhat incognito, there’s no chance of something personal to you being used to someone else’s advantage.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I would never use something personal against you, though!” Jeremy defended.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’d be surprised,” Ryan muttered in response.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He paused as they approached a picnic table, then decided to sit down. As he slid onto the bench, his phone started ringing. He answered it with a sigh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Geoff, I’m kinda busy right now. Can I call you back later?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, fine,” came the response, then the call ended.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ryan glanced at his phone for a moment, frowning. When he looked back up, he saw Jeremy sitting across from him, head resting in his hands in an almost cute way. Ryan gritted his teeth in an attempt to hold back the blush that was again threatening to rise in his cheeks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Busy? You don’t look very busy to me,” Jeremy teased.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m talking to you, aren’t I?” Ryan muttered in response.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Amazingly enough, yes. And I’m glad to know I’m at least somewhat important to you,” Jeremy said with a breezy laugh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who said you’re important to me? I still hate you,” Ryan snapped back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Important enough to basically ignore a call from someone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The younger man was smirking once again and Ryan hated it more than anything. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, the things I wish I could do to you to wipe that stupid smirk right off your face, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Ryan thought, then swallowed hard and rubbed his face with his hands, shaking his head just slightly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s wrong, Haywood?” Jeremy questioned innocently, causing Ryan to groan in annoyance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just shut up, Dooley. You’re really making me wish I had responded to my friend,” Ryan muttered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Man, it’s fun getting on your nerves,” Jeremy joked, then gave Ryan a quick wink.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t fucking test me,” Ryan growled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ooh, sexy,” the shorter man replied, the smirk returning to his face again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dooley,” Ryan warned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, I’m just saying-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Dooley.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ryan’s eyes were narrowed dangerously. Jeremy held his hands up in surrender and shut his mouth. Ryan breathed a deep sigh and shook his head at his partner.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t flirt with Haywood. Got it,” Jeremy said with a faux-solemn nod.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ryan rolled his eyes, almost having to try not to smile. Jeremy may be an idiot, but Ryan had to admit he could be kinda funny. And there was no denying he was cute, even if Ryan would rather die than admit that out loud.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, what were you going to tell me before anyway? Something about the weekends?” Ryan asked suddenly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeremy glanced up in surprise, clearly having thought Ryan couldn’t care less about what he had to say.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, well I was just thinking, doesn’t the Fake AH Crew usually only do their bigger heists on weekends?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Ryan muttered, “they once tried to rob a bank on a Sunday. Anyway, we already knew that, so what does it have to do with anything besides helping us be better prepared?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe one or more of them have some kind of a day job outside of their criminal life,” Jeremy proposed, “so they’re busy during the weekdays. Therefore, it’s just easier for them to do stuff on the weekends so it doesn’t interfere.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s definitely possible,” Ryan replied, nodding thoughtfully.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He then swore to himself as he glanced at Jeremy, who looked pleasantly surprised and extremely proud of himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Jeremy may be an annoying dumbass,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Ryan thought in frustration, </span>
  <em>
    <span>but why does he also have to be annoyingly smart sometimes?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Man, he hated his day job.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A few days later, an anonymous tip was called in to the LSPD. It said that the Fake AH Crew would be meeting up in a week with a potential buyer at some warehouse in the middle of nowhere. Ryan, of course, knew it wasn’t true, but had to go along with it for the sake of his day job.</p><p>The news seemed to unnerve Jeremy a bit, which piqued some curiosity in Ryan. It seemed that the Fake AH Crew was finally actually starting to freak Jeremy out, which filled Ryan with satisfaction.</p><p>A couple days before the supposed meet-up, Ryan and Jeremy were sent to explore the area and find the best spot for the stakeout that was coming up. Jeremy seemed nervous, which Ryan understood, because they never knew what they would find there.</p><p>They had been there for a while and it was starting to get dark outside. So far, they hadn’t found anything out of the ordinary. There was a nice dark area they could park in that was hardly noticeable that they decided would be the best place to stakeout, and they spent a little while there, surveying how much they could see of the warehouse from the angle. Jeremy seemed to have relaxed a bit, but he was still much tenser than usual. As they leaned against the car, Ryan placed a hand on Jeremy’s shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly.</p><p>“Hey, don’t worry. Everything is gonna be okay,” Ryan said gently.</p><p>Jeremy looked up at him in surprise.</p><p>“Why are you being nice to me all of a sudden? Don’t you hate me?”</p><p>Ryan pondered this for a moment. He thought he had hated Jeremy, he really did. But now, as he looked down at the shorter man and his still somewhat perky expression, he realized he didn’t. Not anymore, at least. Ryan offered Jeremy a rare gentle smile.</p><p>“Nah. You’re great at getting on my nerves but I admit I do actually have some respect for you,” he answered.</p><p>“Oh. Heh. Thanks, Haywood,” Jeremy replied with a small laugh.</p><p>He was smiling softly, a real smile for once, his eyes crinkling just slightly. Ryan noticed this and realized with a shock why that new thief in the gang had seemed so familiar to him.</p><p>Jeremy Dooley was Rimmy Tim.</p><p>It all made sense now. Moving to Los Santos, his interest in the Fake AH Crew, the tension when Ryan called him an amateur, the initial familiarity, the cut on his finger, the nervousness about the warehouse meet-up and stakeout. Upon realizing this, Ryan felt a sense of dread build in his chest. He couldn’t believe it took him that long to notice something so glaringly obvious.</p><p>“Hey, can I excuse myself for a moment? I have to make a really important call,” he said, putting on a fake smile.</p><p>“Yeah, go ahead. I’m not gonna stop you,” Jeremy replied, shrugging.</p><p>Ryan walked just out of earshot and pulled out his phone, relieved that Jeremy didn’t seem to notice his demeanor change. He quickly dialed a number into his phone and pressed the call button.</p><p>“Hey, V, what’s up?” came the voice on the other side of the call.</p><p>“Hey, Geoff. I know this is random, but please tell me you don’t have a meet-up planned on Saturday,” Ryan said in a whisper, nervous that Jeremy would overhear him.</p><p>There was a pause. Ryan’s stomach twisted.</p><p>“Yeah, we do. I was gonna tell you the other day but you never called me back. Shit, I can’t believe I forgot to tell you afterward,” Geoff finally answered. “Also, why are you whispering?”</p><p>“Rimmy Tim is a cop, Geoff. He’s here with me right now. I think he may have anonymously told the station about the meet-up. You have to cancel it, man,” Ryan whispered urgently.</p><p>“Holy shit,” Geoff breathed.</p><p>“Tell me you’ll cancel it. Or postpone it or something. We have a stakeout planned for Saturday and I won’t be able to stop Do- er, Rimmy Tim- from doing something if he sees you guys,” Ryan begged, cringing at his near slip-up.</p><p>“Okay, okay. Come back to the penthouse as early as possible tonight. Try to find a way to stop Rimmy from coming back at the same time as you. We’ll figure out a plan,” Geoff replied quickly, then after a moment added, “and you know you might have to kill him if he’s a snitch.”</p><p>Ryan swallowed hard and glanced at Jeremy, conflicted. The younger man was still leaning against the car, gazing up at the sunset with a soft smile on his face. Ryan realized how much he didn’t want to kill his partner, but he also knew he wouldn’t have much choice if it came down to it. The thought made him queasy.</p><p>“I… I understand, Geoff. I’ll get back as soon as I can,” he finally responded, then hung up the phone.</p><p>He walked back to Jeremy, who was still staring at the oranges and pinks of the gorgeous San Andreas sunset. Ryan paused for a moment, realizing he never really stopped to appreciate how beautiful it really was, then shook his head to clear the thought as he continued to approach the shorter man.</p><p>“Hey, Dooley, we should probably head home for the day,” he said, putting a hand on Jeremy’s shoulder.</p><p>“Can’t we stay a little longer? I actually kinda like it out here. It’s so much calmer than the rest of the city,” Jeremy said quietly.</p><p>Ryan frowned. He felt like he had detected a hint of wistfulness in the man’s voice, but it was so faint that he could hardly tell.</p><p>“I’m sorry, but I really have to get home soon,” he replied, somewhat unwillingly.</p><p>Jeremy was right about how calm and peaceful it was. Ryan tended to crave chaos, so he generally didn’t care about feeling the calm of a sunset on a cool summer night. But for some reason he liked it, standing out there watching the sunset with his partner. It was nice. As those thoughts crossed his mind, however, he pushed them away. He couldn’t get close to Jeremy now. Not after what he had just realized.</p><p>The two men got back in the car and drove silently back to the police station. Ryan was afraid to speak, worried he might say something to make Jeremy suspicious of him. But Jeremy seemed calm and unworried, hardly paying attention to Ryan except for a few stolen glances. The soft smile stayed on his face the entire ride, and Ryan realized he actually was starting to feel guilty.</p><p><em>No</em>, Ryan told himself firmly, <em>I can’t let my emotions get the better of me</em>.</p><p>When they arrived back at the station, they debriefed quickly with the captain then headed out. As they walked toward their cars, Ryan paused and cleared his throat to get Jeremy’s attention. Jeremy turned to look at him, eyebrows raised.</p><p>“Uh, if you want to see the night sky better, I recommend driving out to Mount Chiliad. There’s a lot less light out there so, um, you can see the stars and stuff pretty well. Y’know, just if you want a, y’know, calm place or something,” Ryan stammered, then silently cursed himself for being so awkward.</p><p>Jeremy hesitated, a small smile playing at his lips.</p><p>“That sounds nice. Yeah, I think I might do that,” he responded, chuckling a little.</p><p>Ryan watched as the latter got into his car and drove away toward the mountain. His ruse had succeeded, he knew Jeremy wouldn’t be back for a while. So, still feeling extremely conflicted, Ryan got into his own car and drove to the penthouse.</p><p>“I’m back,” he announced as he walked through the door.</p><p>Geoff, Jack, Michael, and Gavin were all waiting for him. He approached them and sat down next to Michael, trying to remain as calm as possible.</p><p>“Rimmy most likely won’t be back for an hour, at least. Did you guys think of a plan?” Ryan asked, placing his hands behind his head and leaning back in his seat.</p><p>“Yeah, Jack had a really good idea,” Geoff said, smiling and motioning for Jack to explain.</p><p>“So,” Jack began, “we don’t know for sure that Rimmy is a snitch. It’s likely, of course, but it also could’ve been someone who works with our buyer. Anyway, since you’ll be on a stakeout with him, my plan is to put a wire on you to see if he says anything incriminating. If possible, try to lead him into conversations where it’s likely he’ll spill. If he does, we kill him after the stakeout.”</p><p>Ryan nodded thoughtfully. This could work.</p><p>“Oh, and we convinced the buyer to let us move the date of the meet-up to the middle of the week and threatened to kill the fucker if he says anything to anyone,” Michael added.</p><p>“Awesome. And even if something seems like it’s going wrong, don’t immediately come to get me. You know I can handle myself well, so don’t come unless I explicitly say I need backup. I don’t want Rimmy finding out I’m part of the crew unless it’s necessary,” Ryan said in a serious voice, looking each of his fellow crew members in the eye meaningfully.</p><p>“Of course,” Geoff replied.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The night of the stakeout, Ryan was rather nervous. He usually didn’t get like this, it was a strange feeling for him. But, unsurprisingly, Jeremy seemed even more nervous.</p><p><em>That snake probably knows this is going to backfire</em>, Ryan thought bitterly. A part of him still hoped that Jeremy wasn’t actually a mole, but judging by his attitude for the past couple of days it unfortunately seemed incredibly likely. Ryan was terrified that he was going to have to kill the younger man, who he had unwillingly become somewhat fond of. He knew the stakeout was going to be tough.</p><p>The two men drove out to the spot they had picked, silent once again. Ryan could tell Jeremy wasn’t speaking due to nerves, but every time they glanced at each other the younger man gave Ryan a sweet and confident smile like he didn’t have a care in the world. Ryan found it annoyingly endearing.</p><p>When they arrived, they parked in the shadows as planned and continued to not speak for a few moments until Ryan broke the silence.</p><p>“There’s really not much to be stressed about, you know. A lot of the time these anonymous tips don’t ever lead to anything. We don’t know for sure that anyone is going to be here tonight,” Ryan tried to reassure Jeremy.</p><p>Jeremy sighed and rubbed the back of his neck tiredly, then attempted to offer a small smile while running his hand through his hair.</p><p>“I don’t know, I just really feel like this is going to end badly,” he said quietly.</p><p>Ryan titled his head to one side and cocked an eyebrow.</p><p>“Why do you think that?” he asked, feigning curiosity.</p><p>Jeremy hesitated, then shrugged his shoulders.</p><p>“I don’t know. Just a gut feeling, I guess.” Jeremy then paused and his eyes rested on Ryan for several moments. “Have you ever thought about wearing your hair down?”</p><p>“Not really, I think it would just get in the way,” Ryan mumbled, instinctively reaching for his long ponytail.</p><p>Jeremy smiled and shrugged again.</p><p>“I think you would look nice, though,” he replied plainly.</p><p>“You’re changing the subject,” Ryan pointed out.</p><p>Jeremy smirked a bit and turned away. Ryan gazed at him for a few moments, a funny feeling in his chest. He knew his emotions were trying to get the better of him, but he was determined to not let that happen. So he forced himself to look away from the younger boy and focus again on the warehouse in which he knew nothing would be happening.</p><p>“Do you ever feel like you’ve done something really bad? Like you made a decision that you knew would change your life forever but you did it anyway, despite the obvious consequences? Like… Like you’ve done something you know you can’t take back and… maybe you don’t want to?” Jeremy said suddenly, then took a shaky breath.</p><p>Ryan looked at him with a concerned expression. He knew the crew would be listening intently now, clinging to every word for the information it might reveal. He hesitated to respond, scared of what might come of it.</p><p>“I’ve done a lot of bad things,” he said finally, “things that you could never take back. It’s part of the job sometimes. So hey, I’ll tell you my story if you tell me yours. I promise”</p><p>Ryan offered the younger man a gentle smile, trying to subtly coax him to speak. Jeremy stared at him for several moments, not saying anything. Then he smiled back and scooted a little closer so that their knees were touching. Ryan tensed up, unsure of what exactly Jeremy was trying to convey with this gesture.</p><p>And then Jeremy leaned closer. Ryan’s heart started beating faster as Jeremy’s lips moved toward his ear. This was it. Jeremy was really going to tell him, wasn’t he? Ryan’s stomach twisted and his breathing got somewhat ragged. Jeremy paused, then pulled back with a slight smirk.</p><p>“You really want to know?” he asked.</p><p>He was almost on top of Ryan now. Ryan felt his chest constrict and he managed a nod. Jeremy smirked again and, instead of speaking, moved his hands to begin playing with the hem of Ryan’s shirt. Feeling overwhelmed, but, oddly enough, not necessarily upset about the situation, Ryan said nothing. All his conflicted thoughts vanished suddenly and his eyes flickered shut. He felt his pulse continue to quicken as Jeremy’s hands slid under his shirt, rough fingers against his bare skin sending shivers down Ryan’s spine.</p><p>And then Jeremy ripped his wire off.</p><p>“I fucking knew it,” he hissed, smile gone and eyes narrowed dangerously.</p><p>
  <em>Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.</em>
</p><p>Jeremy laughed bitterly and stared down at the wire in his hand. He reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a knife. Ryan’s eyes widened in alarm and he automatically reached for his own in case Jeremy went after him.</p><p>Instead, Jeremy took the knife to the wire, cutting it and destroying the signal. Ryan felt his shoulders relax just a little and he took his hand off his own knife, still on guard. Jeremy pocketed his and turned back toward Ryan, throwing down the wire with hurt and anger in his eyes.</p><p>“I knew you didn’t fucking trust me. I fucking knew it. Did the station put you up to this?” he snapped, clenching his fists angrily.</p><p>Ryan couldn’t respond, he was too shocked. He felt stupid for forgetting that the wire was there. He had officially done it. He had let his emotions get the best of him and it had completely fucked him over.</p><p>Jeremy sat tensely, clenching and unclenching his fists, waiting for an answer. It didn’t come. He let his shoulders drop and his eyes flickered.</p><p>“For a moment there, the other night, I thought… Maybe…” he took a shaky breath. “But of course not. I was an idiot to think you would trust me.”</p><p>Ryan tried to speak, but no sound came out. It was silent in the car, save for Jeremy’s heavy breathing. Ryan wanted so badly to respond. He tried again but all that came out was a weak choking noise. Jeremy scrunched his nose furiously and turned away.</p><p>“D-Dooley, it’s not what you think,” Ryan finally managed to choke out.</p><p>“Oh really? Then what the fuck is it?” Jeremy retorted, snapping his head back toward Ryan again.</p><p>Ryan hesitated, unsure of how to respond. He couldn’t just tell Jeremy who he was, not right now at least. Instead, he said,</p><p>“Did you send the tip?”</p><p>Jeremy’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.</p><p>“The tip? How would I have known about…?” his voice trailed off as he saw the seriousness in Ryan’s eyes and realized. “You know, don’t you?”</p><p>“What do I know?” Ryan replied simply, not wanting to outright say it.</p><p>Jeremy stared at Ryan, still and silent. He knew whatever he said would be incriminating, so it seemed a wiser option to not speak. Ryan raised an eyebrow at the younger man, but he didn’t budge. So Ryan instead reached into his jacket and pulled out a picture, placing it in Jeremy’s hand.</p><p>Jeremy stared at it for several long moments. It was the picture of his own criminal alter ego. He didn’t speak, didn’t move, didn’t acknowledge Ryan. He was tense and quiet and seemed terrified to do anything.</p><p>“Your secret is safe with me,” Ryan eventually spoke. “You know you’ve done something bad. Not just for other people, but also for yourself. I told you, though, I’ve done bad things too. And I know yours now, so you deserve to know mine.”</p><p>Jeremy slowly looked up from the picture in his hand.</p><p>“I didn’t send the tip,” he said quietly. “I should’ve, because I did know about the plan for the possible meet-up, but I didn’t send it. It wasn’t me. I’m scared people are going to get hurt for no reason. Good people.”</p><p>Ryan realized with a shock that Jeremy was talking about the crew. This wasn’t what he expected at all, and he was unsure of how to continue. Then, Jeremy said, with a weak smile,</p><p>“It’s your turn.”</p><p>Ryan swallowed and nodded. There was no going back now. He may be a liar, and a damn good one at that, but he would never break a promise. So he took a deep breath and began to explain.</p><p>“I put myself in a bad situation just like you. I joined a crew when I was younger because I wanted the thrills and the rush that I couldn’t get from police work.” Ryan ignored the surprise on Jeremy’s face and continued, suppressing a grimace. “I’ve probably made many more enemies than most people in Los Santos, but I did it all under another name so almost no one actually knows it was me.”</p><p>“But there are people out there who do know your identity?” Jeremy questioned, frowning.</p><p>“Yeah,” Ryan said, narrowing his eyes a bit, “that crew is still out there and most of the current members know who I am.”</p><p>“You’re a police officer, though. Why would they just let you go? Why would you let them go?” Jeremy pressed.</p><p>“Because that crew is different. Unlike most gangs, it was built on trust. There was a pretty small amount of members when I joined, and we weren’t just colleagues. We were teammates and friends, and we formed a bond that couldn’t be broken. We have an unspoken agreement that if I never turn them in, they’ll always continue to trust me,” the older man replied, voice calm but serious.</p><p>There was a tense feeling in the car. Neither Ryan nor Jeremy seemed to know what to say now, and they were clearly still unsure if they could trust one another.</p><p>“You’ve killed people, haven’t you?” Jeremy said after a long while.</p><p>“You have too, Dooley. Don’t forget I saw the news while I was suspended. Morality isn’t black and white. You should know that better than most people. A majority of the people I killed weren’t good people. They were drug dealers, kingpins, traffickers, thieves.”</p><p>Ryan watched Jeremy wince at the word ‘thieves’ and immediately felt a twinge of guilt.</p><p>“The point is,” he continued, “I know what I did was bad, and I regret a lot of it. But it also made me who I am today. I want you to be careful, though, because once you’re in this shit it can be hard to get out. Only one other person has ever left my crew.”</p><p>Jeremy nodded, then slowly and cautiously leaned his head on Ryan’s shoulder. The tension surrounding them seemed to fade and they both relaxed.</p><p>“It’s interesting,” Jeremy murmured, “you still refer to it as your crew even though you aren’t a part of it anymore. And you always call it a crew instead of calling it a gang like most people.”</p><p>“Old habits die hard,” Ryan responded, shrugging.</p><p>“You remind me of someone else I know,” Jeremy said softly after a few moments of silence between the two.</p><p>“Who?” Ryan asked, knowing exactly who Jeremy was talking about.</p><p>“Someone I live with,” was the response.</p><p>“Oh yeah? What’s this person like? Is he an asshole like me?”</p><p>Jeremy hesitated for a moment.</p><p>“Not really. Well, I don’t exactly know, but he doesn’t seem like it.”</p><p>“What do you mean you don’t know? I thought you said you live with this guy,” Ryan asked, feigning confusion once again.</p><p>“Well he’s never really around. I’ve only talked to him once or twice. And I live with quite a few people,” Jeremy explained.</p><p>“Is he part of the crew?”</p><p>“I never said I lived with my crew.”</p><p>“Neither did I. So if you barely know what he’s like, why do I remind you of him?”</p><p>Jeremy glanced up at Ryan. He took a moment to study the older man’s face and then shrugged, smiling a bit.</p><p>“I suppose it’s the hair,” he finally said.</p><p>He knew he was going to have a hard time with this.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I originally wasn't going to post this chapter so soon after the last one, but I had already written it so I figured there was no point in delaying. I also almost ended it on a cliffhanger but it wouldn't have set up the next chapter correctly so you're welcome for that :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jeremy sighed to himself as he sat down in his car, mind running from what just had happened at the stakeout. He assessed the situation in his head and tried to mentally list out all the factors that would affect the very big decision he was going to have to make.</p><p>The first big thing that he was extremely sure of was that he had very strong romantic feelings toward his partner, Ryan. Even though he had apparently been wrong about Ryan at first, it was clear that Ryan was still everything Jeremy wanted, now maybe even more so than before. And there was also that moment in the car, where Jeremy could've sworn that Ryan maybe reciprocated his feelings.</p><p>On the other hand, Jeremy also had feelings toward his fellow crew member, The Vagabond. He didn’t think it would happen, especially because he hadn’t even really seen The Vagabond’s face. However, that moment on the boat, when The Vagabond had let his hair out and was smiling so genuinely with such a carefree expression on his face, Jeremy had felt his heart seize and he knew there was no escaping the tidal wave of feelings washing over him.</p><p>There was also the fact that Jeremy hadn’t thought he had a “type”, but Ryan and The Vagabond were actually rather similar in appearance. They had a similar height and build, and their hair was about the same length. Ryan’s eyes were a stunning blue, though, whereas The Vagabond’s eyes were dark brown. They also had extremely different personalities. Ryan was cold, harsh, and often brutally honest. He hardly ever smiled or laughed, and there was a certain iciness to his entire persona. Jeremy hated it a bit, but also found the man infuriatingly sexy, and the few times Ryan was nice had made Jeremy fall hard for him. The Vagabond, on the other hand, was mostly relaxed and rather friendly, and had a beautiful laugh that Jeremy absolutely adored. And he definitely seemed to like Jeremy a lot better than Ryan did.</p><p>The biggest problem in this situation, however, was that Ryan now knew Jeremy’s criminal identity. Jeremy figured he only had two choices to deal with this- he could either let Ryan go with the information and just pray he would actually keep his word and not tell anyone, or he could kill Ryan to ensure that his secret wouldn’t get out. The first one was clearly easier, but the second seemed much safer and, as cruel as it was, it would also solve his conflicting love life issues.</p><p>He knew he would have to kill Ryan. It hurt him more than anything, but deep in his gut he knew it was the only choice to ensure he and the rest of the crew would remain safe. If something happened to the crew because Jeremy was foolish enough to let a police officer know his identity… He couldn’t even imagine it.</p><p>After running all those thoughts through his head, Jeremy started his car up and drove to the penthouse. It was early in the morning and he hadn’t gotten any sleep, so he was ready to crash in his bed for the rest of the morning.</p><p>When he walked through the door, he was surprised to see Geoff and The Vagabond already awake. They were whispering tensely to each other, and when they noticed his presence they both turned and stared, quickly ceasing their conversation. Jeremy stared back nervously, freezing in place.</p><p>“So…” he said, confusion evident in his voice, “what happened to the meet-up? Was it canceled?”</p><p>“Someone tipped off the cops. There was a police van waiting for us,” Geoff replied coldly.</p><p>“O-oh…” Jeremy mumbled. “Well, I’m gonna, um, get some sleep.”</p><p>“Right. We’ll talk more when you wake up,” Geoff said, voice stony and emotionless.</p><p>Jeremy swallowed nervously and nodded, slowly turning to head toward his room. He felt the two men’s eyes following him as he exited and tried to hold back the feeling of panic rising in his chest.</p><p>I<em> didn’t submit the tip,</em> Jeremy assured himself. <em>Besides, there’s no way they know I’m an officer…</em></p><p>
  <em>… Right?</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Jeremy woke up several hours later and immediately felt dread and panic wash over him. As he slowly got up, he tried to convince himself over and over that it would be fine, but he had a hard time even believing himself.</p><p>As he approached the main room, he heard Michael’s voice, sounding irritated, say,</p><p>“I thought you said you did a fucking background check on the guy!”</p><p>Jeremy froze, listening intently.</p><p>
  <em>They found out.</em>
</p><p>“I did do a background check! I couldn’t find out what his real name was, all I saw was that he’s a wanted criminal in Massachusetts or something! Why would that make me think he’s a cop?” Jeremy heard Geoff snap in response.</p><p>
  <em>They found out.</em>
</p><p>“Still, Geoff! You’ve never been this careless before!” Jack joined the conversation.</p><p>
  <em>They found out.</em>
</p><p>“Yes, Jack,” Geoff retorted, “I am aware of that.”</p><p>
  <em>They found out.</em>
</p><p>“I say we should keep him, though. He’s talented. Besides, Vagabond trusts him, so why shouldn’t we?” Gavin was now speaking, too.</p><p>
  <em>The Vagabond trusts me?</em>
</p><p>Jeremy finally took a deep breath and entered the room. Just like it had earlier, the conversation ceased immediately when the crew saw him.</p><p>“I can explain,” Jeremy said quickly, then noticed that The Vagabond was the only one not in the room.</p><p>“Please do,” Geoff replied, eyes narrowed.</p><p>“My job at the station is just a cover up. I was an officer back at my old home, but I was just using it as a way to have a reason to come to Los Santos, because it’s basically the crime capital of America. I don’t even like being a police officer, I just happen to be good at it because I know firsthand how criminals work. I didn’t want you guys to know because I was scared it would hurt my chances of joining the crew. I swear I was never planning on using my job against you all,” Jeremy explained, then paused, waiting anxiously for a response.</p><p>After a moment of silence, Jack said,</p><p>“You’re lucky I can see why V trusts you.”</p><p>Jeremy let out a shaky breath that he hadn’t even realized he had been holding. He collapsed into a seat in relief.</p><p>“Where is he, anyway?” he asked.</p><p>“Out,” Geoff responded.</p><p><em>Right. They definitely still don’t completely trust me,</em> Jeremy thought to himself.</p><p>“I’ll prove it to you. I’ll prove I won’t betray the crew. <em>Our</em> crew. I promise,” he said seriously.</p><p>“Well, yeah. Your life kinda depends on it, buddy,” Michael said with a shrug.</p><p>
  <em>I’ll prove it. And I know exactly how.</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Jeremy adjusted his white cowboy hat as he sped through the streets of Los Santos in his obnoxiously colored orange and purple car. There was only one place he’d ever seen Ryan outside of work, and as unlikely as it was that he’d actually be there, he figured he might as well take his chances.</p><p>Sure enough, as Jeremy got out of his car next to the beach, he saw Ryan walking through the sand, hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. Jeremy followed him from a far distance, only getting just close enough to not lose sight of the older man.</p><p>After a while, Ryan started walking toward one of the more shady areas of the city. A bit unnerved, Jeremy continued following him further in, and watched him disappear into an alleyway. The younger man waited a few moments, then followed after him, not wanting to lose sight but also not wanting to be seen.</p><p>As he turned the corner, however, he suddenly stopped in his tracks as he made eye contact with Ryan, who was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed. He quickly put a hand on his pistol, ready to pull it out.</p><p>“What’cha doin, Dooley?” Ryan asked casually, eyeing Jeremy’s holstered gun.</p><p>“H-How did you know I was there?” Jeremy stammered, caught off guard.</p><p>“Easy. I saw your car and figured something was up so I paid attention to where you might be. And trust me, I’ve been doing this much longer than you have. You didn’t have a chance of not being noticed. So, what are you doing?” the older man replied with a calm voice.</p><p>“Shut up, Haywood. Don’t make this any harder than it has to be,” Jeremy muttered in response, gritting his teeth to stop his voice from shaking.</p><p>“You still didn’t answer my question,” Ryan said, taking a step toward Jeremy.</p><p>Jeremy whipped the pistol out and pointed it toward the center of Ryan’s head, then swallowed nervously when Ryan didn’t even flinch.</p><p>“You don’t want to do this, Dooley,” Ryan’s voice had a dangerous edge to it now.</p><p>“D-Don’t call me that,” Jeremy stammered, wincing at how his voice was now shaking, “that’s not who I am right now.”</p><p>“You’re not two different people, Dooley. Even if right now you’re dressed as the infamous Rimmy Tim, you’re still my partner,” Ryan replied coolly.</p><p>“Sh-shut up. You don’t u-understand,” Jeremy was stuttering badly.</p><p>“Really, Dooley?” Ryan scoffed, stepping closer once again.</p><p>Jeremy tightened his grip on the gun and muttered,</p><p>“Don’t call me that. Please don’t make this harder.”</p><p>“<em>Jeremy,</em>” Ryan pressed, voice suddenly sincere.</p><p>Jeremy’s breath caught and his hand started trembling. Without thinking, he slowly lowered the pistol.</p><p>Ryan was on him in an instant, ripping the gun from his grip and throwing him to the ground. Jeremy gasped in pain but recovered quickly, sweeping his leg under Ryan and knocking him to the ground, the gun flying from the older man’s hand and skittering across the pavement. Ryan grunted and grabbed Jeremy’s pant leg as the shorter man tried to reach for the gun, then rolled over to him and pinned him to the ground.</p><p>“You really thought I was going to betray you? You’re even more of a fool than I thought. Just goes to show that you really don’t know shit about who I actually am,” Ryan hissed.</p><p>“It was the safest choice,” Jeremy responded, voice coming out in a painful and breathless wheeze.</p><p>“I know you don’t want to kill me, Dooley,” Ryan said, voice softening just for a moment.</p><p>“I have to,” Jeremy replied in anguish.</p><p>“Why?” the older man questioned.</p><p>“The crew,” Jeremy gasped, “I have to protect them. I can’t let something happen to them because I was an idiot and let a fucking cop find out who I am.”</p><p>Ryan’s grip on Jeremy’s arms loosened immediately. Jeremy looked up at him in confusion. Even though he now had the option, the younger man didn’t make a move to escape.</p><p>“You…” Ryan breathed deeply. “You’re really loyal to that crew, aren’t you? You don’t care about your job at the station.”</p><p>“Haywood…” Jeremy swallowed hard, chest tightening.</p><p>“Tell me the truth right now, Dooley. If it came down to it, would you choose the Fake AH Crew or would you choose the LSPD?” Ryan pressed.</p><p>“I…” Jeremy inhaled shakily and tore his gaze away from Ryan’s face. “I would choose the crew.”</p><p>After a moment’s hesitation, Ryan completely let go of Jeremy, then stood up and turned away. Jeremy scrambled to his feet in confusion.</p><p>“I-I’m sorry, Haywood. But these guys… They’re like family. You said your crew was like that too. You understand, don’t you, Haywood?” he said unsurely, then faltered even more when there was no response. “Haywood…?”</p><p>There was a long, tense silence. Jeremy trembled, staring at his partner’s back. He saw Ryan breathe a deep sigh and shake his head slightly.</p><p>“Y-you don’t understand, do you? Not anymore, I suppose. But the way you talked about them before, I thought…” Jeremy whispered.</p><p>Ryan let out a sharp laugh, causing Jeremy to jump.</p><p>“Of course I understand, Dooley. It would be wise to stop assuming shit about me, considering you’ve been wrong almost every time now,” he replied, then started walking away.</p><p>Jeremy started after him immediately, but froze when Ryan spun around suddenly. A smile was playing at the older man’s lips, which confused Jeremy more than anything.</p><p>“If you follow me, you will regret it,” Ryan said with a slight smirk.</p><p>He continued walking and Jeremy didn’t move until the man was long out of sight. A confused shudder ran through him and he shook his head, rubbing his eyes with his palms. He had never been more confused in his life, and he hated it.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Ryan waltz into the penthouse, smiling to himself.</p><p>“What’s got you so chuffed?” Gavin asked and tilted his head curiously.</p><p>“I have good news,” Ryan said with a grin, “Rimmy Tim is definitely loyal.”</p><p>“Oh? What happened to make you so sure of that?” Jack inquired, raising her eyebrows.</p><p>“Well, first of all, he’s a goddamn idiot. He straight up told me that he would pick the crew over the LSPD while still thinking I’m only a police officer,” Ryan responded with an almost fond chuckle.</p><p>“You’re acting weird, V,” Geoff said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.</p><p>Gavin, Michael, and Jack all murmured in agreement. Ryan shrugged, a slight smile still resting on his usually stony face.</p><p>“Wait, okay. We’ll get back to your weird attitude later, but I have a more important question first. Does Rimmy Tim still not fucking know that you’re the fucking Vagabond?” Michael pressed.</p><p>The smile vanished off of Ryan’s face instantly.</p><p>“Yeah. That is actually kind of a problem. He tried to murder me because I found out who he is and he wanted to keep the crew safe at any cost. I genuinely have no idea if he’s going to try to kill me again,” he said grimly.</p><p>The rest of the crew stared at him in silent shock.</p><p>“He… tried to kill you?” Gavin finally repeated.</p><p>“Yup,” Ryan confirmed with a grimace.</p><p>“Shit,” Jack breathed, “that must’ve been what he meant when he said he would prove he was loyal to the crew.</p><p>“Killing someone, though? Seems a bit extreme, if you ask me,” Gavin said with a frown.</p><p>“Not when he clearly wants to be just like The Vagabond,” Geoff sighed.</p><p>Ryan eyebrows shot up.</p><p>“Did he say that?”</p><p>“No,” Geoff replied, “he just makes it really obvious. He literally joined in the exact same way you did, and I know about that little adventure you guys went on during the heist he planned. His skillset is way different from yours, though.”</p><p>“Shit,” Ryan muttered, “he really is a fucking idiot. Honestly, I’m lucky he doesn’t know enough about me to have known how to beat me.”</p><p>Suddenly, Ryan went silent as he heard footsteps outside the door and saw the doorknob start to turn. He moved to jump to his feet, but froze as he realized he didn’t have enough time to escape the room without his face being seen.</p><p>The door swung open, revealing Jeremy, who was still wearing his Rimmy Tim getup. The man was looking down at his phone as he entered, and didn’t glance up as he pushed the door closed behind him.</p><p>The other five crew members were all frozen, unsure of what to expect from Jeremy’s reaction. After what felt like forever but was really only a few seconds, Jeremy turned back around and glanced up.</p><p>As his eyes met Ryan’s, his entire body froze and his phone slipped from his hand. clattering to the floor.</p><p>“Haywood??” he gasped, terror quickly washing over his face.</p><p>Ryan offered a weak smile and gave him a little wave.</p><p>“Hi, Dooley.”</p><p>Jeremy’s head spun. He reached out to steady himself, but his hand missed the wall and passed through the air, causing him to stumble to the ground. His vision was swimming and he felt queasy as a wave of nausea hit him.</p><p>Ryan rushed over to him immediately and quickly knelt down next to him, gently laying a hand on his shoulder.</p><p>“Dooley? Dooley, please say something. Are you okay? I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you like that,” he said, voice panicky.</p><p>“This is all my fault. Oh my god, this is all my fault,” Jeremy groaned in anguish, shoving Ryan’s hand away and propping himself up into a sitting position against the wall.</p><p>“Dooley, please, listen to me,” Ryan begged.</p><p>“Fuck off, Haywood. Fuck. I can’t believe I almost fucking trusted you,” Jeremy looked furious and his eyes were filled with anger and hurt.</p><p>“Dooley-”</p><p>“I’m gonna fucking kill you if you hurt them, Haywood. Don’t fucking touch my crew. I don’t fucking care if you just see them as criminals, they’re the best family I’ve ever had and I won’t let you fucking ruin this.”</p><p>Ryan shook his head and tried to say something in return but was interrupted by Jeremy continuing to speak.</p><p>“A-And what was with that whole fucking smiling thing back there? Were you just trying to distract and intimidate me so you could escape and find my crew?” Jeremy added angrily. “And how the fuck did you find them, anyway?”</p><p>“Just fucking listen to me, Jeremy!” Ryan yelled.</p><p>Jeremy shut his mouth and raised his eyebrows defiantly, crossing his arms over his chest. His entire body was trembling.</p><p>“I told you, you don’t know a damn thing about who I actually am,” Ryan said, trying as hard as he could to stay calm.</p><p>“Fine, who the fuck are you, then?” Jeremy snapped back.</p><p>Ryan took a deep breath and looked into the younger man’s eyes.</p><p>“I’m The Vagabond, Jeremy.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jeremy’s breath caught and he stared at Ryan in shock. Ryan stared back, frowning as he tried to study Jeremy’s expression.</p><p>“You-” Jeremy managed to choke out, then recovered from the shock and shoved Ryan away from him roughly, standing up as quickly as he could.</p><p>Ryan winced and scrambled to his feet after Jeremy.</p><p>“Are you being fucking serious right now? You’re actually The Vagabond?” Jeremy spat angrily.</p><p>“Well, yes, but just please hear me out,” Ryan begged.</p><p>“No. I don’t wanna fucking hear it. Why the fuck would you keep something like that from me, even after finding out who I am?” Jeremy yelled in response.</p><p>“Jere-”</p><p>Ryan was cut off by Jeremy’s fist slamming into his face. His vision went blurry and he stumbled to the side, swearing. He became vaguely aware of Jeremy walking out the door and slamming it as his vision came back.</p><p>“Wait,” he mumbled, rushing to follow him out.</p><p>He quickly caught up with Jeremy and placed his hand on his shoulder to get his attention. Jeremy spun around, shoving the hand off angrily. His eyes were red.</p><p>“What the fuck, Haywood?” he choked out furiously. “Why didn’t you just tell me before?”</p><p>“You have to understand, I couldn’t just reveal my identity that easily. I had no idea if I could actually trust you,” Ryan tried to explain, voice becoming almost desperate.</p><p>“But you still could’ve fucking told me back in the alley, Haywood!” Jeremy was almost screaming now.</p><p>“Jeremy, the rest of the crew didn’t hear you say all that stuff that I heard! They had absolutely no reason to trust you! I wanted to tell them everything before I just went and told someone my identity!” Ryan argued back.</p><p>Jeremy’s eyes suddenly widened in realization.</p><p>“Shit, Haywood, if you’re actually The Vagabond… Back at the stakeout… That wire..?”</p><p>“It was for the crew,” Ryan confirmed.</p><p>“So the meet-up didn’t happen because you warned them about it?” Jeremy said.</p><p>“Yeah. I realized you’re Rimmy Tim when we were there to scope out the area. You’ve probably guessed this by now, but we suspected you may have been the leak that submitted the anonymous tip,” Ryan explained.</p><p>Jeremy frowned, looking upset.</p><p>“Was that why you stopped hating me? Because you realized I’m not just the annoying partner you thought I was? And how did you even figure it out?” he asked, voice sounding somewhat bitter.</p><p>“No, actually. I don’t really know when I stopped hating you. It might’ve been after our conversation the other day on the beach,” Ryan replied, “and I, uh, figured it out because of, um, your smile. You usually don’t smile so genuinely so I hadn’t noticed the similarity before, but after that I realized everything just kinda added up.”</p><p>His face flushed and he looked away, clearing his throat awkwardly.</p><p>“O-Oh…” Jeremy mumbled, face also turning slightly pink.</p><p>“I really am sorry, Jeremy. I didn’t mean to scare you like that. I was going to tell you soon, I swear. Especially after what you said about the crew,” Ryan said gently.</p><p>Jeremy was silent for several long moments. He looked flustered and conflicted, and Ryan couldn’t tell if he was still upset or not.</p><p>“So, I have a question…” the younger man said finally.</p><p>Ryan raised his eyebrows and tentatively motioned for him to continue.</p><p>“That night, during the stakeout. Right before I pulled off your wire, um, what exactly was going on there? Like, why didn’t you stop me?” Jeremy asked in a soft voice.</p><p>“Oh,” Ryan frowned, “it was just… I don’t know, Dooley. My emotions were all over the place after realizing who you were. It was a moment of weakness. It’s not something that I’ll ever let happen again.”</p><p>Jeremy’s face had fallen the moment Ryan said his last name.</p><p>“Oh,” was all he could think to respond.</p><p>“Er, are you alright?” Ryan asked, puzzled by the latter’s reaction.</p><p>“Yeah. I’m fine. Look, I have to, um,” Jeremy grimaced, “I have to go.”</p><p>He turned away abruptly and Ryan furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.</p><p>“Wait, why?” Ryan questioned, upset.</p><p>“This is just all too much, Haywood. I need to go for a while. And,” Jeremy said, turning back for a moment to look at the older man, “don’t even think about following me.”</p><p>“Dooley, wait-”</p><p>“Just stop, okay? I was so excited to work with you, but I swear to God it just seems like all you ever do is make things harder for me. Just leave me alone, please,” Jeremy muttered, then turned away again and started walking.</p><p>Ryan stared in shock at the retreating form of the shorter man. Once Jeremy had finally disappeared from his vision, Ryan turned slowly to head back to the penthouse, feeling lightheaded.</p><p>When he returned, he immediately headed toward his room and collapsed into a sitting position on his bed. He buried his face in his hands and groaned, questioning what it was he said that made Jeremy so upset.</p><p>After a minute, Jack walked in and took a seat next to him.</p><p>“Hey buddy, what’s going on?” she asked, concern evident in her voice.</p><p>Ryan just shook his head and let out a muffled grunt in response. Jack frowned and rubbed his back comfortingly.</p><p>“I’ve only seen you look this upset once before, Ryan. What happened?” she pressed gently.</p><p>“I-I don’t fucking know,” Ryan stammered, “but Dooley just left.”</p><p>“Who? Oh, is that Rimmy Tim’s actual name?” Jack said.</p><p>Ryan nodded in confirmation.</p><p>“Alright, so what do you mean he left?” Jack continued pushing.</p><p>“He’s gone. I don’t know when he’ll be back, but he said he needs a break a-and,” Ryan cut off with a choke, then took a deep but shaky breath and continued, “I think it’s my fault. I don’t know what I said but he just started acting really weird for a moment and then left.”</p><p>Ryan finally looked up at Jack, a dejected expression on his face. Jack gave him a sympathetic look in return and continued gently rubbing his back.</p><p>“Why can’t I be better at reading people?” Ryan said miserably.</p><p>“Uh, what? You’re great at reading people, man,” Jack replied in confusion.</p><p>“But if I’m actually that great at reading people, why can’t I ever figure out what’s going on with Dooley?” Ryan questioned back.</p><p>Jack pondered this for a moment, then sighed deeply.</p><p>“Ryan, I think the problem is that you care too much. With other people you usually don’t really care so you can just figure them out without really trying. This time, however, you’re focusing too much on it so you just keep overthinking everything. Try to take a step back and think a little less,” she suggested.</p><p>Ryan looked at him, perplexed.</p><p>“I… Don’t think I’m really catching your drift,” he said with a frown.</p><p>“Just listen to me,” Jack responded. “In all the years I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you not retaliate when someone hit you as hard as Rimmy Tim did, and I’ve never seen you act so gentle and concerned when you accidentally scared someone.”</p><p>“I still don’t understand,” Ryan mumbled, causing Jack to groan.</p><p>“God, I can’t believe you called him an idiot yet you’re sitting here next to me being this obtuse. Do you have feelings for him or do you not?” Jack snapped.</p><p>“What?” Ryan said in alarm.</p><p>“I’m saying I can’t imagine you would ever act like that toward someone you didn’t have any sort of feelings toward. Not to mention the smile you had while talking about him earlier,” Jack pointed out in annoyance.</p><p>Ryan was silent, unsure of how to respond. He felt conflicted and confused. He gave Jack a panicked look, as if asking for help. Jack looked at him sympathetically and moved her hand to his shoulder.</p><p>“I’m gonna leave you to think for a while,” she said gently, then got up and walked out of Ryan’s room.</p><p>Ryan groaned and threw himself backwards onto his bed in frustration. He thought back to what he had said to Jeremy, once again trying to figure out where it had gone wrong. It had seemed like Jeremy had been most upset by Ryan’s response to his question about the night of the stakeout, but the reaction still made no sense to Ryan. Why would Jeremy have been that upset about Ryan having a moment of emotional weakness?</p><p>Unless…</p><p>
  <em>Holy shit.</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Ryan had never been more nervous but excited to go to work than he was on that following Monday. He wanted to talk to Jeremy more than anything so they could sort out the situation and fix everything.</p><p>When he walked in, however, Jeremy wasn’t there yet. Ryan hummed in slight disappointment.</p><p>“Hey,” he said to another coworker, “have you seen Dooley anywhere?”</p><p>The coworker frowned, looking surprised.</p><p>“You didn’t hear? He quit. Said he had to go back to his hometown. Didn’t say why, though,” they replied.</p><p>“He… What?” Ryan said weakly.</p><p>“You’re probably glad, huh? You two seemed to really hate each other,” his coworker joked.</p><p>“I have to go,” Ryan mumbled in response, feeling dizzy.</p><p>“Woah, are you okay? You look like you’re about to throw up,” another coworker commented.</p><p>“Can you tell Cap I’m sick?” Ryan murmured. “I really need to go home. I’m so sorry.”</p><p>He stumbled away from his desk, then shook his head to clear it and started running to his car. He drove as quickly as he could back to the penthouse, hardly paying attention to traffic laws.</p><p>When he arrived, he burst through the doorway, breathing hard.</p><p>“Where the fuck is Dooley’s hometown?” he demanded.</p><p>“Why the fuck aren’t you at work?” Michael responded.</p><p>“Dooley quit. Apparently he said he was going back to his hometown. Where did he live?” Ryan pressed with clear urgency.</p><p>“Jesus Christ, would you calm down?” Geoff said, frowning. “He’s from some town in Massachusetts. Are you seriously thinking about going all the way out to the east coast just for some guy you still barely know anything about?”</p><p>“And who could also come back at literally any time?” Jack added.</p><p>“Yes,” Ryan said earnestly.</p><p>The other four crew members shared a look. Jack was smirking.</p><p>“Alright, we’ll help you,” Geoff replied.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>A couple days later, Ryan had a plane ticket to Massachusetts and was at the airport a couple hours before his flight was supposed to board.</p><p>The flight was irritatingly long, and even though Ryan had gotten hardly any rest the past few nights, he had far too much adrenaline to even attempt to sleep. When the plane finally landed, he had never felt more relieved.</p><p>As he was wandering through the crowd, trying to escape the airport, someone suddenly tripped and stumbled next to him. Ryan instinctively shot out a hand and grabbed the man’s arm, barely saving him from tumbling to the ground. The man recovered quickly and offered Ryan a smile.</p><p>“Thanks,” he said.</p><p>“No problem,” Ryan replied, then went to continue walking.</p><p>“Wait!” the man suddenly called out. “Can I ask your name? You look familiar for some reason.”</p><p>“Oh, my name is Ryan,” Ryan responded, then added, “and you?”</p><p>“I’m Trevor,” the man said, holding out his hand with a smile.</p><p>Ryan hesitated for a moment, then shook it, studying the man’s appearance as he did so. He was tall and looked somewhat fit. He was also rather handsome and had expressive eyebrows.</p><p>“I don’t think we’ve met before,” Ryan said.</p><p>“You look familiar, though. I can’t quite place it,” Trevor replied with a frown, then suddenly his eyes widened. “Oh! Oh, I think I know where I recognize you from! Do you know Jeremy Dooley?”</p><p>“Oh, yeah, I know him,” Ryan said, trying to act calm while his heart rate sped up significantly. “How do you know him? And how do you recognize me from that?”</p><p>“He’s a good friend of mine, and he’s shown me a picture of you before,” Trevor answered with a smile.</p><p>“Ah. Are you from around here?” Ryan asked casually, silently wondering why Jeremy had shown this man a picture of him.</p><p>“No, actually. I’m from Indiana but I’ve been travelling a lot lately so I just happened to end up here. I’m actually about to get on a flight to South Carolina,” Trevor said brightly.</p><p>“Why’s that?” Ryan inquired.</p><p>Trevor laughed.</p><p>“It’s ironic, actually. Jeremy just flew back from Los Santos and he’s staying there with our friend Matt,” he replied.</p><p>Ryan’s breath caught and panic overwhelmed him for a moment. He subconsciously ran both hands through his hair and bit his lip anxiously.</p><p>“Are you okay? You suddenly look really spooked,” Trevor said with a frown.</p><p>“Uh, when does your flight leave? I may have just fucked up big time,” Ryan responded with a grimace.</p><p>“It leaves in a couple hours, why?” Trevor answered in confusion.</p><p>“So I may or may not have flown out here to see Jeremy so I can apologize to him because I accidentally said something that may have really upset him and he quit his job and left Los Santos and I’m worried it was because of me so would you be willing to help me out?” Ryan admitted quickly.</p><p>Trevor’s eyes widened.</p><p>“Um. I have a couple questions,” he said. “First of all, which job?”</p><p><em>Do Jeremy’s friends know about Rimmy Tim?</em> Ryan wondered, then decided to answer,</p><p>“Both, I suppose, but only one officially.”</p><p>“Oh, wow. Okay then,” Trevor breathed, “what did you say to him that made him that upset?”</p><p>Ryan winced.</p><p>“Hard to explain. Can you please help me get a plane ticket now?” he asked impatiently, narrowly avoiding Trevor’s question.</p><p>“I suppose,” Trevor said with a shrug.</p><p>Once they had finally gotten the ticket, they boarded fairly quickly. They sat down next to each other on the plane and got settled in, before Ryan asked,</p><p>“Why do you even trust me? I feel like you should probably be more suspicious of me.”</p><p>“Jeremy spoke really highly of you,” Trevor replied, “and you seem pretty genuinely upset about the idea of possibly accidentally hurting him.”</p><p>“Really? He spoke that highly of me? Even after I slapped him?” Ryan said in surprise.</p><p>“Woah, you slapped him? He probably liked it,” Trevor laughed.</p><p>Ryan’s face flushed.</p><p>“W-What do you mean by that?” he stammered.</p><p>Trevor’s eyes widened.</p><p>“Holy shit. Oh my God, you have a crush on him don’t you? Or is it more than a crush? I mean, shit, who would travel across the country just to apologize to someone if it wasn’t more than a crush? Shit, this is so cute, I’m gonna throw up,” he said excitedly.</p><p>Ryan grabbed the collar of Trevor’s shirt.</p><p>“If you say one more word I will slit your goddamn throat,” he threatened.</p><p>Trevor swallowed nervously and said,</p><p>“So I supposed you know him from his ‘night’ job and not his day job?”</p><p>“Both, actually,” Ryan replied with a smirk.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>After a few hours, they landed in South Carolina. Ryan was thankful to finally be on the ground again after two consecutive flights and seemed visibly relieved to be with someone that knew exactly where to go.</p><p>“So why do <em>you</em> trust <em>me</em>?” Trevor asked randomly.</p><p>Ryan paused, frowning.</p><p>“I don’t know. I guess I just got too distracted by the thought of Jeremy being somewhere else that I didn’t really stop to think if you could be tricking me. Besides,” he said, “I’m pretty positive I could beat you in a fight if I had to.”</p><p>Trevor laughed lightly in response and Ryan scrunched his nose in annoyance. He was still rather irritated by people laughing so easily like that.</p><p>Trevor then said,</p><p>“Matt is picking us up, by the way, and it’s pretty likely Jeremy will be with him. None of us have seen each other in a while.”</p><p>Ryan felt nervous all of a sudden.</p><p><em>What if he really doesn’t want to see me?</em> he thought anxiously. <em>What if by showing up I’m just making things worse? He did tell me not to follow him. Shit, what if he hates me for this?</em></p><p>Trevor seemed to notice Ryan’s hesitation and put a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.</p><p>“If it makes you feel any better, Jeremy seemed really heartbroken when he was texting us about how he was coming back,” he said.</p><p>“Why the fuck would that make me feel better?” Ryan responded in a distressed voice.</p><p>“Because he clearly didn’t actually want to leave you,” Trevor explained with a smile. “He really admires you.”</p><p>“Did you tell him that I’m here?” Ryan asked, frowning.</p><p>“Nah, I told Matt but Jeremy doesn’t know,” Trevor replied.</p><p>Suddenly, he started grinning and walking toward a man with long hair. Ryan immediately noticed a much shorter man standing behind the one with long hair and his chest seized. He felt panic rise inside him and tried to turn around, but Trevor quickly turned back and grabbed his arm, dragging him toward the two other men.</p><p>“I thought Jeremy said you were brave,” he muttered.</p><p>Ryan shot him a glare as they approached the two men. Trevor let go of him and went to hug the long-haired one, which Ryan assumed was Matt. Jeremy noticed Ryan immediately and froze, a look of shock on his face.</p><p><em>Just shock, not anger,</em> Ryan quickly reassured himself, then tried to offer Jeremy a small wave accompanied by a weak smile.</p><p>Trevor and Matt pulled apart from their hug and looked back and forth between Ryan and Jeremy. Matt looked nervous, but Trevor looked almost smug.</p><p>Suddenly, Jeremy was moving quickly toward Ryan. Trevor shot a panicked glance at Matt as Jeremy raised his hand to hit Ryan, but Ryan’s reflexes were quick. He caught Jeremy’s hand and pulled him into a tight hug, trying to ignore how tense Jeremy’s entire body was.</p><p>“Don’t you dare try to fucking hit me until I explain myself,” Ryan growled into Jeremy’s ear. “I flew across the fucking country to apologize to you. If your friend over there hadn’t tripped next to me then I would be lost in Massachusetts right now. I sat on a plane for probably over ten hours just so I could see you, so you’re going to fucking listen to what I have to say.”</p><p>He released Jeremy from the hug, but continued holding him somewhat close. Jeremy looked up at him in surprise.</p><p>“You really did all that for me? What do you even have to apologize about?” he asked in awe.</p><p>Ryan looked him in the eye and placed a hand on his cheek.</p><p>“I really hurt you, didn’t I? I didn’t realize you liked me and I was kinda a dick about it,” he said gently.</p><p>Jeremy pulled away from him, frowning.</p><p>“Jesus Christ, Haywood, you really think I was that upset just because you didn’t have feelings for me? First of all, I wasn’t lying when I said I was overwhelmed, and I really did need some time to think. Second of all, I was upset because the moment I brought up something that had to do with your feelings, you completely shut down all your emotions and even went back to referring to me as Dooley like you did when you still hated me. And third of all, I was going to come back, I just quit my job at the station because the only reason I continued working there after moving to Los Santos was because you were my partner,” he explained.</p><p>“Then I’m sorry for shutting down my emotions like that, I know it’s a really bad habit and I’ll try to break it if you want me to. And I knew you might come back, but I had no idea when and I couldn’t wait,” Ryan replied earnestly, slowly pulling Jeremy back toward himself without really thinking about it.</p><p>Jeremy smiled softly and relaxed, letting himself be pulled into another hug, this time much more gentle.</p><p>“You really traveled this far just to see me,” he mused happily.</p><p>Ryan smiled and ran a hand through Jeremy’s hair, using his other hand to continue holding the shorter man close. He then stopped his hand on the back of Jeremy’s head and leaned closer.</p><p>"It's Ryan, by the way. My name is Ryan."</p><p>He gently pressed his lips upon Jeremy's. Jeremy froze for a moment in surprise, then quickly recovered and kissed Ryan back, harder. Ryan grunted and went to deepen the kiss, but was interrupted by someone clearing their throat.</p><p>“Hate to ruin the moment, but can we go back to my house now? I don’t really want to just stand here and watch you guys make out,” Matt said awkwardly.</p><p>Ryan blushed and let go of Jeremy.</p><p>“Er, yeah, sorry,” he mumbled.</p><p>Jeremy laughed and grabbed Ryan’s hand, murmuring his name quietly while grinning. Trevor shook his head in amazement, then ran a hand through his hair and said,</p><p>“I can’t believe it. I’m a goddamn hero.”</p><p>“Yeah, thanks for being clumsy,” Ryan joked, causing the others to laugh.</p><p>The four men then walked out of the airport together, Jeremy holding Ryan’s hand tightly the entire time.</p><p>Finally, things seemed to be looking up.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Here's some fluff for you all :)<br/>I considered making this the end of the story, but instead I have much more planned :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Ryan,” Jeremy said happily, grabbing the older man’s hand and pulling him closer.</p><p>Jeremy had planned to stay in South Carolina for a week, and Ryan was more than happy to stay with him. It hadn’t even been a full day yet, and Ryan was already almost wishing it would never end. The only thing that he figured could make it better was if the two were alone, but he also didn’t particularly mind the company of Matt and Trevor.</p><p>“Ryan,” Jeremy repeated and tugged on Ryan’s hand gently.</p><p>“Do you actually have something to say to me this time or are you just saying my name again because you like it?” Ryan teased with a grin.</p><p>“Shut up, Ryan, I actually do have something to say,” Jeremy said, hitting Ryan’s shoulder playfully.</p><p>“For the first time in my life, I truly believe it’s possible to wear someone’s name out,” Ryan joked, then with a slightly more serious voice added, “and I didn’t tell you my name just so you could repeat it every time you speak, you know. I told you because I trust you.”</p><p>Jeremy smiled gently in return.</p><p>“That’s actually what I wanted to say. Why do you trust me so much? And how did you go from hating me to liking me?” he said, voice slightly quiet.</p><p>Ryan laughed warmly and said,</p><p>“It’s pretty hard not to like you, Jeremy. You wouldn’t believe how hard I tried to keep hating you once I realized I was starting to like you more. Also, that heist that we did? Damn, that was amazing. Fighting side by side with you… Let me just say, it’s not everyday that you find someone that you can be so in sync with.”</p><p>“You really liked being my battle buddy that much?” Jeremy asked, smiling and blushing.</p><p>“Well yeah, it was kinda one of the best moments of my life,” Ryan responded, making Jeremy blush brighter. “And honestly, I’m the one that should be asking you why you like me. Like, come on, Jeremy, I literally slapped you just because you got on my nerves a little too much.”</p><p>Jeremy let out an embarrassed cough and tried to turn away, but Ryan grabbed his chin gently and turned his face back toward him, raising an eyebrow. Jeremy cleared his throat awkwardly before beginning to speak.</p><p>“Well, I, uh, kinda moved to Los Santos because of you,” he mumbled.</p><p>Ryan’s eyes widened.</p><p>“You <em>what</em>?” he blurted in surprise.</p><p>“Don’t make me repeat it, I’ve embarrassed myself enough already,” Jeremy groaned, covering his face with his hands.</p><p>“Is that why you were working at the police station?” Ryan asked with a frown. “Is it why you stayed at the station as long as you did? Why you had so much trouble convincing yourself to actually try to kill me? You know that’s not really who I am, right?”</p><p>“What? Oh God, Ryan, no. I moved to Los Santos for The Vagabond, not for some annoyingly handsome and talented police officer. Although I will admit that was a perk. I was going to quit working at the station almost immediately after joining the crew, but then I happened to be partnered with an extremely attractive guy that also happens to be really cool and kinda mean in a sexy way who was nice to me maybe once and my heart couldn’t handle leaving yet,” Jeremy explained in a rush, then groaned again and shook his head in embarrassment.</p><p>“Let me get this straight,” Ryan said slowly, “You really moved across the country for a criminal and then got a crush on a police officer, both of which happened to be me?”</p><p>“Well,” Jeremy shrugged, “I got a crush on the criminal too after that heist, but yeah that’s basically what happened.”</p><p>“That’s cute and all, Jeremy, but why the fuck did you move across the country just for a criminal?” Ryan asked in amusement.</p><p>“Honestly I just got bored in my hometown and saw something about you on the news and I thought you seemed really cool and mysterious and I was curious to see if it was possible to work with you or not,” Jeremy responded casually, causing Ryan to scoff.</p><p>“You’re a real idiot, you know that?”</p><p>Jeremy grinned and nodded, then moved closer to Ryan so that their bodies were touching.</p><p>“Yeah, I know. But it’s not like we can all be as brilliant as you, Mr. Vagabond,” he said, then gave Ryan a smirk.</p><p>“Shit, Jeremy,” Ryan grunted, “how do you go from being adorable to being that sexy in such a short amount of time?”</p><p>“Once again, we can’t all be like you and be sexy all of the time,” Jeremy replied with an innocent shrug.</p><p>Ryan responded by shoving Jeremy against the wall and kissing him hard. Jeremy tried to hold back a moan as he deepened the kiss and felt Ryan’s tongue slip into his mouth. He reached up and grabbed Ryan’s hair, lightly pulling it and feeling a rush of satisfaction as Ryan groaned. The older man’s hand began to travel lower, then slid under Jeremy’s shirt and began to tug it upward.</p><p>Suddenly, the door swung open and Trevor popped his head in.</p><p>Jeremy instinctively tried to jump away from Ryan in embarrassment, but Ryan remained still as he lightly pinned the shorter man against the wall. Trevor’s eyes widened and he covered his mouth with his hand.</p><p>“Okay, gross,” he mumbled, “if you were gonna fuck you could’ve at least warned Matt and I.”</p><p>“Fuck off,” Jeremy muttered, unsure if he wanted to cover his face in embarrassment or just kiss Ryan again.</p><p>“Damn, I was just coming to tell you guys that we brought home some food for dinner,” Trevor replied with his hands raised in surrender.</p><p>Jeremy made a small noise and immediately wiggled away, much to Ryan’s disappointment. He noticed Ryan frowning and gave him a quick kiss.</p><p>“I’m hungry,” he said with a shrug, then leaned in closer and whispered, “but after dinner we can pick this up right where we left off.”</p><p>Ryan swallowed hard as Jeremy shot him a wink and slid out the door. Trevor scrunched his nose in fake disgust, then turned and exited after Jeremy. Ryan stood still for a moment, then smiled and shook his head as he moved to follow the two other men.</p><p>The mood was light and cheerful as they ate. Throughout the meal, Jeremy and Ryan kept sneaking glances at each other and smiling. They sat close to each other and Ryan kept finding excuses to touch Jeremy’s hands, causing the younger man to blush several times. Matt and Trevor pretended not to notice but silently agreed that they would mercilessly tease Jeremy about it later.</p><p>After eating, the four men hung out for a while before turning in for the night and returning to their respective rooms. Ryan followed Jeremy, holding his hand tightly with their fingers interlaced, and they quickly changed into their sleepwear and layed down on the bed. Jeremy waited only a moment before rolling over onto Ryan and pinning him down.</p><p>“Now, where were we?” he said in a low voice, a slow smirk spreading across his face.</p><p>Ryan opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by his phone going off from a text message. He groaned and Jeremy pouted and whined but moved off of him anyway so he could retrieve the phone.</p><p>
  <em>“We need you back now, V. It’s urgent.”</em>
</p><p>The text message was from Geoff. Ryan sat up immediately in alarm, frowning deeply as he read the message once, twice, three times over. His fingers flew across the screen as he quickly typed a response.</p><p><em>“What’s going on?”</em> was his reply.</p><p>
  <em>“Can’t disclose details over phone. Too dangerous. Come back ASAP.”</em>
</p><p>“Fuck,” Ryan muttered as he read the vague response.</p><p>“So we need to leave?” Jeremy said, frowning as he sat up and read the messages over Ryan’s shoulder.</p><p>Ryan hesitated, then typed up another message without giving Jeremy an answer.</p><p>
  <em>“Does Rimmy Tim need to come back too?”</em>
</p><p><em>“No, this has nothing to do with him,”</em> came the answer.</p><p>“What does he mean by ‘it has nothing to do with me’?” Jeremy murmured unhappily.</p><p>Ryan sighed and gave Jeremy a long look, eyes troubled.</p><p>“He means it has something to do with either someone that I pissed off specifically or something that happened before you joined the crew. And as much as I don’t want to leave you right now, if it has anything to do with what I think it might, I really do think you should stay here. At least just for the week you had already planned on,” he explained.</p><p>“But what if I want to come with?” Jeremy asked cautiously.</p><p>“Then I can’t stop you,” Ryan replied, “and I have no doubt that you could handle yourself if something bad happens, but this isn’t something you want to get caught up in. This isn’t something I want you to get caught up in.”</p><p>“But, Ryan, I’m part of the crew now,” Jeremy pressed, clearly getting frustrated.</p><p>Ryan placed a hand gently on Jeremy’s cheek and gazed into his eyes meaningfully, then pressed a gentle kiss to the younger man’s lips.</p><p>“I know, Jeremy,” he said softly, “but please just trust me on this one.”</p><p>Jeremy hesitated for several long moments before finally responding.</p><p>“Fine. But tonight, it’s just me and you, okay?” he said in a firm voice.</p><p>Ryan smiled and kissed him again.</p><p>“Of course.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Ryan left the next morning after breakfast, giving Jeremy a long, sweet goodbye kiss before he went on his way. He sent Geoff a quick text to let him know he was on his way to the airport and that he would get a ticket for the earliest flight he could.</p><p>The drive to the airport was excruciating. Every mile he drove further away from Jeremy, his chest ached more and more. He tried to reassure himself by silently repeating that it would only be a week until they saw each other again, but a tiny little voice inside his head wouldn’t stop pointing out how hurt Jeremy probably was from being abandoned like that.</p><p>“I didn’t abandon him,” Ryan muttered quietly to himself.</p><p><em>Even so, you chose work over him,</em> the voice in his head said. <em>He didn’t even bother to drive you to the airport.</em></p><p>Ryan grimaced and tried to shake the thoughts from his mind, to no avail. He eventually arrived at the airport and shot Geoff another text to update him, then decided to also send Michael a text because Geoff hadn’t responded to the first one.</p><p>Michael responded almost immediately with,</p><p>
  <em>“Why are you at the airport? Are you coming back early?”</em>
</p><p>Ryan frowned at the message, wondering why Michael didn’t know what was going on.</p><p><em>“Geoff texted me yesterday telling me to come back ASAP,”</em> he texted back.</p><p>Michael didn’t answer for a while, making Ryan nervous. Ryan was almost about to buy a ticket when his phone buzzed with a message that made his blood run cold.</p><p>
  <em>“Geoff lost his phone a week ago.”</em>
</p><p>“Fuck,” Ryan swore loudly.</p><p>An older lady nearby opened her mouth to scold him for his language, but Ryan just rolled his eyes and flipped her off before turning and leaving in almost a run, not wanting to deal with anything that might delay him from returning to Matt’s house.</p><p>He drove back quickly, hardly paying attention to the speed limit, mind racing fast. Halfway there, he noticed lights flashing behind him.</p><p><em>Red and blue,</em> he realized with dread.</p><p>He pulled over to the side of the road and parked, then swore and slammed his hands angrily on the steering wheel as the cop car pulled over behind him. The officer stepped out of the car and approached Ryan, motioning for him to roll his window down. Ryan did so, then brightened up as he caught a glance of the officer’s face.</p><p>“Well well well, if it isn’t Burnie Burns! What brings you to South Carolina?” he called out the window.</p><p>Burnie stopped in his tracks for a moment and squinted, trying to see Ryan better.</p><p>“Haywood?” he said finally, then visibly relaxed and said, “I should be asking you the same thing. Why are you out here?”</p><p>“Oh, you know,” Ryan replied, waving his hand casually, “I’ve just been tricked into thinking Geoff texted me yesterday saying I had to fly back to Los Santos for an emergency, but Geoff actually lost his phone a week ago and now I’m worried that someone was just trying to get me away from the location I was staying at for some reason so I’m driving back to make sure no one tried to kill the love of my life or something.”</p><p>“Wait, what?” Burnie questioned in alarm.</p><p>“Yeah, so if you’ll let me off just this once I’d really appreciate it,” Ryan requested.</p><p>“Hold on-” Burnie tried to speak.</p><p>“Great, thanks man! I really owe you one,” Ryan interrupted with a cheeky grin as he started his car back up.</p><p>“Whatever, tell Geoff I said hi!” Burnie yelled in defeat as Ryan peeled away.</p><p>Ryan shot a thumbs-up out the window, then felt relief wash over him from the incredible luck he had just had. What were the odds that the one police officer to see him was the one that knew exactly who he was? Then, as he continued to drive, Ryan suddenly thought back to something he had just said.</p><p>
  <em>The love of my life.</em>
</p><p>Had those words really come out of his mouth? Did he really love Jeremy? Or was it just a slip of the tongue?</p><p>Ryan tried to shake the thought from his head but it remained lingering in the back of his mind even as he forced himself to think of other things.</p><p>He quickly got back to Matt’s house and burst through the door, causing Trevor to scream in panic.</p><p>“Fuck, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you like that,” Ryan said quickly, then frowned as he studied the two men in front of him.</p><p>They looked to be in a poor shape. Trevor was crying and Matt looked shaken up but too shocked to cry. They were both trembling. Ryan looked away from them to observe their surroundings. The house looked trashed, as if a huge fight had happened. A table was broken and a window had been smashed, leaving shards of broken glass and debris all over the floor. On one wall, Ryan noticed, was a splatter of dark red liquid.</p><p>Ryan swallowed hard and tore his gaze away from the blood on the wall, looking back to Matt and Trevor. Then, a sudden realization hit him as he realized there were only two men in front of him. His chest seized in fear as the question escaped his lips.</p><p>“Where’s Jeremy?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry for the longer wait than usual! For some reason I got kinda stuck on the beginning part for a while.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The moment Ryan spoke, Matt started crying.</p>
<p>“He’s gone,” Matt tried to explain through his tears, “they- they fucking took him.”</p>
<p>Ryan’s hands started shaking.</p>
<p>“Who? Who took him? What happened?” he demanded.</p>
<p>Trevor shuddered and slowly handed him a crumpled up note in his hand. Ryan carefully took it and uncrumpled it to read what it said inside.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>To Ryan Haywood, aka ‘The Vagabond’,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Thank you for being so gullible and blindly trusting such a vague message. Really, we appreciate it. It would have been much more annoying to get Mr. Dooley back if you had also been there to try and stop us.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And before you accuse us of stealing someone from you, as we know that this person is very valuable to you, we want to assure you that we are just taking back something that is rightfully ours. You tried to hide him, but he is now in our possession once again.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>If you want him back, I’m sure you’ll easily be able to find us, but we must warn you that it would probably be wiser to just surrender now. After all, we have a powerful weapon against you. A weapon that has finally been returned to us.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>A weapon that you thought was yours.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>FH</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ryan finished reading the note and frowned, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.</p>
<p>“I don’t understand,” he murmured.</p>
<p>“We tried to stop them, but there were too many. Jeremy fought as hard as he could, but Matt and I don’t know how to fight like him so we weren’t much help,” Trevor choked out.</p>
<p>“Who gave you this note?” Ryan demanded.</p>
<p>“It was left on the end table, we didn’t see it until everyone was gone,” Matt explained in a whisper.</p>
<p>Ryan swore and clenched his fists as he skimmed through the note again.</p>
<p>“It doesn’t make any fucking sense,” he said furiously. “What kind of weapon did they take from me that I ‘thought was mine’? A-And they fucking talk about Jeremy like he’s a fucking object that can just be passed around. He’s a goddamn human being and they fucking talk about him like he’s just an object.”</p>
<p>His entire body was shaking in anger now and he tried to blink back tears that were threatening to fall from his eyes. He kicked the end table over in a blind rage, causing Matt and Trevor to jump, then stormed out of the house to get some fresh air. He then pulled out his phone and quickly called Michael, hands still shaking furiously.</p>
<p>“Ryan? What’s up? Did you figure out what was going on with those texts from Geoff’s phone?” Michael said immediately when he picked up.</p>
<p>“Someone fucking took Jeremy,” Ryan answered, willing his voice not to shake as he spoke.</p>
<p>“Who’s Jeremy? Oh, Rimmy Tim, right. What do you mean someone took him?” Michael responded in confusion.</p>
<p>“I mean exactly what I said. Someone kidnapped him and left some fucking weird cryptic note saying something about how I tried to hide him but they have him back now and that they have some sort of powerful weapon that I thought was mine,” Ryan explained.</p>
<p>Michael hesitated before answering,</p>
<p>“But you weren’t trying to hide him.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, that’s one of the weird things. And the weapon part confuses me too, because I don’t think they took anything but Jeremy,” Ryan muttered in frustration, then added, “and they somehow know both of my identities.”</p>
<p>“Shit. This is fucked up. Was the note signed?” Michael questioned.</p>
<p>“Yeah. ‘FH’. I have no idea what the fuck that stands for, though,” Ryan answered.</p>
<p>“And you said it mentioned ‘getting him back’? Like they had him before? Because that sounds to me like Rimmy was in some other crew before Fake AH,” Michael commented, sounding unnerved.</p>
<p>Ryan fell silent for a moment, then murmured a troubled agreement. He frowned, wondering how much Jeremy was still hiding from him. If he really had been in a previous crew and not told any of the Fake AH Crew members, then that was a bit of an issue. Ryan felt sick as he thought about it.</p>
<p>“Ryan, you have his phone number, right? Why don’t we try to track it?” Michael suggested.</p>
<p>“Yeah. Yeah, let’s do that,” Ryan responded in a faraway voice, then hung up.</p>
<p>He walked back inside, feeling numb. He brushed past Trevor and Matt and went straight to his room, throwing off his jacket and pulling out his computer immediately to start trying to track Jeremy’s phone. As he had guessed would happen, however, the phone was off.</p>
<p>Ryan groaned and shoved the computer away from himself, then fell backwards onto the bed with his face in his hands as a wave of exhaustion hit him. He felt his eyes start burning and tried to blink back the tears that were threatening to fall. Why was it that the moment things started getting better it all immediately came crashing down?</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ryan didn’t know when or how he fell asleep, but he was woken up several hours later by his phone ringing next to his head. He rubbed his face then frowned as he noticed it was damp, as if he had been crying recently, which seemed odd considering he had been asleep. He picked up his phone and answered it tiredly.</p>
<p>“Hello?”</p>
<p>“Jesus Christ, Ryan, you fucking terrified us. We’ve been trying to call you nonstop for the past half hour,” Jack’s relieved voice replied through the phone.</p>
<p>“Sorry, I guess I fell asleep. I must’ve been a lot more exhausted than I thought I was,” Ryan said with a sigh.</p>
<p>“That’s weird, you usually never fall asleep during the daytime like that. Are you alright?” Jack asked, sounding concerned.</p>
<p>“Define ‘alright’,” Ryan muttered in response.</p>
<p>“Well, if it makes you feel any better, we were able to track down Rimmy Tim. He’s still in South Carolina at the moment, so we should probably act pretty fast in case they’re planning on going somewhere else soon,” Jack said.</p>
<p>Ryan sat up suddenly, no longer feeling tired.</p>
<p>“Where?” he demanded.</p>
<p>“I’ll send you the address, but you probably shouldn’t-”</p>
<p>“Great, thanks Jack.”</p>
<p>Ryan hung up the phone, grabbed his jacket, and walked out of the room. His phone screen lit up as he received the location from Jack, and he glanced at it quickly as he passed by Matt and Trevor on his way out the door. He then hopped into the car and started driving, wanting to waste no time.</p>
<p>When he reached the location, he parked a good distance away and approached on foot as stealthily as he could. The building just looked to just be some sort of a house, and Ryan almost wondered if he was actually at the right place.</p>
<p>As he got closer to the house, he noticed he no longer had anywhere to hide or any shadows to try and stick to, so he sighed and stepped out onto the street. Almost immediately, someone spotted him and called out to him.</p>
<p>“Haven’t seen you around here before,” the person said.</p>
<p>Ryan quickly spun around to look toward the voice. The person that had spoken was a somewhat short woman with long blonde hair. She looked quite friendly, so Ryan let himself relax a bit.</p>
<p>“Well, that’s probably because I haven’t really ever been in this neighborhood before,” Ryan admitted, figuring there was no harm in telling the truth about something as harmless as that, then pointed at the house and said, “Do you happen to live here? Or perhaps know who does?”</p>
<p>The girl shook her head and replied,</p>
<p>“No, why?”</p>
<p>“Well, I have to talk to the owner of the house,” Ryan answered.</p>
<p>“Why’s that?” the woman pressed.</p>
<p>Ryan thought quickly, then fumbled around in his jacket for several moments before finally locating his police badge and pulling it out to show the woman.</p>
<p>“Police business,” he said.</p>
<p>The girl squinted at the badge and raised her eyebrows suspiciously.</p>
<p>“Oh? What are you doing so far from Los Santos, then?” she mused.</p>
<p>“A criminal that I was chasing in Los Santos was spotted in South Carolina so I came to investigate,” Ryan explained, trying not to let his frustration show as he was forced to quickly come up with a lie.</p>
<p>“Why do you think he’s at this house? And why aren’t you wearing a uniform? Oh, also, why are you alone?” the woman fired several questions in a row.</p>
<p>“You ask a lot of questions, you know that?” Ryan muttered, then waved his hand to shoo her away.</p>
<p>The woman just smiled and shrugged before walking away. Ryan breathed a sigh of relief and walked up the steps to the house. He turned the doorknob slowly and was surprised to see that the door was unlocked. He quietly slipped inside and began to explore.</p>
<p>As he looked around, he spotted a door that looked like it led to a basement. He quickly approached it and tested the doorknob, then swore under his breath as he found that it was locked. Feeling thankful that he knew to always come prepared, he reached into one of his jacket pockets and pulled out a lockpick, quickly unlocking the door and opening it as silently as possible. He crept down the steps, and his breath caught as he found what was at the bottom of the stairs.</p>
<p>Right in the middle of the basement stood a chair, and sitting in it was a person that had been gagged and tightly bound to it. However, Ryan was filled with dread as he realized the person wasn’t Jeremy. This person was taller and clearly less muscular than Jeremy, which disoriented Ryan. It only took a moment for him to realize who the person in the chair actually was, though.</p>
<p>“Ray,” Ryan gasped, unable to hold back his surprise.</p>
<p>Ryan’s old crewmate's head shot up and he looked toward Ryan in shock. He started shaking his head frantically, but Ryan ignored it and rushed forward to hug him. He quickly pulled the gag off of Ray’s face then knelt down next to him and whispered,</p>
<p>“I’m gonna get you out of here. Don’t worry.”</p>
<p>Ray shook his head again and Ryan vaguely noticed how weak the latter looked.</p>
<p>“You shouldn’t be here, Ryan,” Ray whispered back, sounding fearful.</p>
<p>Ryan just hugged Ray again and said quietly into his ear,</p>
<p>“I don’t care. You really think I’ve ever gone the safe route in my life? It’s always do or die, and I don’t plan on dying.”</p>
<p>“I know, Ryan, but-”</p>
<p>The two men froze as they heard a click. Ryan slowly turned his head and found himself looking down the barrel of a gun. His eyes traveled further up and he realized with a shock that the person holding the gun was none other than the person he thought he had been trying to save in the first place.</p>
<p>Jeremy stood above him, holding the gun tightly. His hand wasn’t shaking this time, Ryan noticed. The younger man’s eyes were full of a rage that Ryan had never seen him have before, and it chilled him down to the bone. Ryan then jumped as someone else suddenly started clapping.</p>
<p>“Well well well,” a voice said, “it looks like The Vagabond found us after all.”</p>
<p>Ryan turned his head toward the voice and found that it belonged to a tall muscular man. Standing behind him was another man and the short woman Ryan had spoken to earlier. He swore under his breath as he realized he had basically given himself away before he even entered the house. He then turned his attention back to Jeremy.</p>
<p>“Why?” he asked, locking eyes with the younger man.</p>
<p>Jeremy narrowed his eyes and his grip on the gun tightened even more.</p>
<p>“Seriously, Ryan? <em>Why?</em> Are you actually asking me that?” he spat.</p>
<p>One of the other men started laughing.</p>
<p>“You’re even more dense than I thought! Don’t you remember, Vagabond? Or should I also refer to you as Ryan?”</p>
<p>“What the fuck do you mean?” Ryan demanded, tearing his gaze away from Jeremy.</p>
<p>The moment he said that, however, he realized he did understand what the man meant. He remembered exactly what had happened. He had pushed the memories out of his mind after Ray had left the Fake AH Crew.</p>
<p><em>FH</em>. These people had kidnapped Ray before. It had been right before Ryan had joined the crew, while he was still just a police officer trying to secretly get the crew’s attention. He had been one of the officers on the case of the kidnapping, but the Fake AH Crew had rescued Ray before the cops had ever gotten there.</p>
<p>The note suddenly made sense. Jeremy wasn’t the person that had been ‘hidden’ and stolen again, Ray was. After all those years of the Fake AH Crew thinking he was safe, they had kidnapped Ray again. And the ‘weapon’ that they had taken back?</p>
<p>The weapon was Jeremy.</p>
<p>Ryan locked eyes with Jeremy again, then slowly raised his hands in surrender. Ray made an alarmed sound but Ryan ignored him, continuing to stare at Jeremy.</p>
<p>“I’ll do anything,” he said, “just don’t hurt Ray.”</p>
<p>“Anything?” the girl piped up.</p>
<p>Ryan gritted his teeth.</p>
<p>“Anything. You can injure me or torture me or-” he swallowed, then continued, “or kill me, or do whatever you sick fucks want to, but let Ray go.”</p>
<p>One of the men motioned at Jeremy, who then lowered his gun and crossed his arms, continuing to glare at Ryan. Ryan frowned, hands still raised above his head, then turned to look away from Jeremy.</p>
<p>“They said Jeremy fought back when you took him,” he muttered to the three other people.</p>
<p>“Oh, yeah, he put up quite a performance,” the man chuckled.</p>
<p>“So everything up until now… That was all a lie? He had been lying to me that entire time?” Ryan choked out.</p>
<p>“Of course,” the other man said, “he was just sent to find out where Ray was hidden.”</p>
<p>“He didn’t even know who Ray is,” Ryan argued.</p>
<p>“He’s an impressive actor, isn’t he?” the first man said.</p>
<p>“Fuck you. Fuck you all,” Ryan hissed. “What are you going to do now? Are you going to kill me? Are you going to let Ray go?”</p>
<p>“Ha, you think we would actually let him go?” the woman laughed, “we’ve worked far too hard to get him back to just let him go again.”</p>
<p>“Fine, then, I suppose I’ll have to take matters into my own hands,” Ryan said with a shrug.</p>
<p>He moved quickly, pulling out a knife. The two men and the woman all pulled guns out automatically and pointed them at him, then froze as they realized what Ryan was doing. He was now standing behind Jeremy with the knife against his throat. Jeremy was tense and clearly terrified, and Ryan had to hold back the strong feelings of guilt crashing over him like tidal waves.</p>
<p>“I see your reflexes are still faster than mine,” Jeremy muttered nervously.</p>
<p>“I trusted you,” Ryan hissed in his ear, then turned to the others and said, “You want him alive, don’t you? Because the only way he’s getting out of this is if you let Ray go.”</p>
<p>One of the men laughed nervously.</p>
<p>“You really think we need him alive that badly?” he asked.</p>
<p>Ryan raised his eyebrows and pressed the knife slightly harder against Jeremy’s throat, causing a bit of blood to trickle out. He smirked as the others jumped.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I do think you definitely need him. So let Ray go and we can sort this out amongst the rest of us, okay?” Ryan replied coolly.</p>
<p>The two men and the woman shared a look, then nodded slightly. The woman stepped forward and untied Ray, who looked baffled but quickly stood up. Ryan abruptly released Jeremy from his grip, put his knife away, and rushed to hug Ray again.</p>
<p>“Go,” he whispered, “fucking run and call Jack. The crew will get you away. We’ll find a new place for you to stay. You’re gonna be alright, man. We’ll both be alright. R and R Connection.”</p>
<p>He pressed his forehead against Ray’s for a moment, then gave him one last quick hug and rushed him out. He pulled out a gun and aimed it at Jeremy until he was sure Ray had made it out safely, then dropped his arm and tucked the gun back into his jacket. He turned back to the others and shrugged.</p>
<p>“Looks like I’m all you have left now. I assume you’ll just shoot me if I try to leave, and the only reason you didn’t shoot Ray is because you don’t want him dead and you’re pretty positive you’ll be able to find him again later. Considering you all seem pretty capable and I know for a fact that Jeremy by himself is almost a match for me, 4 people to 1 seems like a fight I don’t think I’ll be able to win. So, basically, I’m stuck,” Ryan said straightforwardly.</p>
<p>The four other people pondered this for a moment before Jeremy stepped forward with a defiant look in his eyes.</p>
<p>“I’ll fight you, then. Just me. A fair fight.”</p>
<p>Ryan looked taken aback, as did the other three people.</p>
<p>“Really, <em>Dooley?</em> Even after I just had a knife against your throat? You said it yourself, my reflexes are quicker than yours,” Ryan said in disbelief.</p>
<p>Jeremy winced as he gingerly touched the shallow cut on his throat.</p>
<p>“You caught me off guard. So yes, <em>Haywood,</em> I want to fight you. I know I can be more than a match for you, and you won’t have to feel like it’s unbalanced,” he replied with venom in his voice.</p>
<p>“Why don’t we just shoot him instead? That sounds much easier,” the woman complained.</p>
<p>“No, no. I think this sounds fun,” one of the men said. “Let’s let it happen.”</p>
<p>“No weapons, though. All I have right now is a gun and I know he also has a gun and several knives. It’s not fun if one of us just shoots the other and I know I can’t put up a fight with my bare hands against his knife skills,” Jeremy demanded.</p>
<p>“Fine. A fair fight,” Ryan replied calmly, then pulled off his jacket and tossed it on the floor beside his feet.</p>
<p>“Boring. I’m gonna go get food. Let me know when someone wins,” one of the men said.</p>
<p>Ryan scoffed as the other two people agreed and followed the first man up the stairs and out of the basement. He turned back to Jeremy and shook his head in disbelief.</p>
<p>“You pick strange company, Dooley,” he spat.</p>
<p>“Well I didn’t exactly pick them, they picked me,” Jeremy muttered in response.</p>
<p>“What do you mean by that?” Ryan asked, raising his eyebrows.</p>
<p>“Fuck off, Haywood, I know what you’re trying to do. Let’s just fight,” Jeremy hissed back.</p>
<p>“Great. I’m really looking forward to bashing your pretty little face in,” Ryan remarked, but took up a defensive stance instead of an offensive one.</p>
<p>Jeremy scoffed and narrowed his eyes malevolently.</p>
<p>“They were right about you. You really will do anything to get what you want. I really didn’t want to believe them, you know. I really wanted to trust you. But you just keep on proving them right.”</p>
<p>“What the fuck do I keep proving?” Ryan asked in confusion, relaxing out of his stance just slightly.</p>
<p>Jeremy didn’t respond. Instead, he sprang forward and threw a punch into Ryan’s stomach. Ryan gasped as his air was knocked out of him and he stumbled backwards. Jeremy didn’t wait until he recovered before throwing another punch, this time striking him across the face. Ryan tumbled to the ground, trying to steady himself but ultimately failing. Jeremy prepared to hit him again, then paused as he realized Ryan was making no move to defend himself or strike back.</p>
<p>“What the fuck are you doing?” he said, throwing his hands into the air in frustration.</p>
<p>Ryan looked up at Jeremy with an odd look in his eyes and an unreadable expression on his face. He didn’t answer at first, but carefully stood back up. Jeremy grunted and shoved him toward the wall. Ryan stumbled again, but managed to balance himself with one hand against the wall. He once again made no move to fight back. Jeremy sighed and crossed his arms, now waiting for a response.</p>
<p>“I don’t want to hit you,” Ryan finally answered weakly. “I don’t know what kinds of things those people said to you to turn you against me like this, or how I apparently keep ‘proving them right’, but I do know that I don’t want to hit you.”</p>
<p>Jeremy frowned in confusion.</p>
<p>“Really, Haywood? What happened to the guy that was holding a knife against my throat less than ten minutes ago? What happened to wanting to ‘bash my face in’?” he demanded.</p>
<p>Ryan sighed and shook his head.</p>
<p>“I was bluffing, you dumbass. I can’t fucking hurt you.”</p>
<p>“You already did,” Jeremy snapped, motioning at the thin cut on his throat.</p>
<p>“Dooley, if I had actually wanted to kill you then you would be dead by now. If I wanted to hurt you then you wouldn’t be standing right now. You fucking know that,” Ryan said calmly, still bracing himself against the wall. “This is your chance. If you want to hurt me, then you can hurt me. If you want to kill me, then you can kill me. I won’t bother trying to stop you.”</p>
<p>“Why?” Jeremy asked, growing more confused by the second.</p>
<p>Ryan looked into Jeremy’s eyes. Jeremy noticed he looked almost sad, his expression filled with wistfulness and regret. Ryan gently pushed himself off the wall into a standing position. He breathed a deep sigh as Jeremy immediately tensed up and moved into a defensive stance.</p>
<p>“Well, this certainly wasn’t how I wanted to say it,” he remarked.</p>
<p>“Say what?” Jeremy demanded, preparing himself to defend against Ryan if need be.</p>
<p>Ryan took a cautious step closer to Jeremy, then winced as Jeremy further readied himself to fight Ryan again. Jeremy frowned as he saw Ryan wince, but didn’t relax from his stance. Ryan took another slow step closer, then breathed a deep but shaky sigh.</p>
<p>“I love you, Jeremy.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Surprise! :D<br/>Lil J has been keeping some lil secrets</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jeremy’s entire body froze when Ryan spoke.</p><p>“You… What?” he said slowly, his voice guarded.</p><p>“I love you,” Ryan repeated, “and I’ve never been in love like this before so I don’t really know what to do, but I know I can’t hurt you because it’ll just hurt me too. I’d rather die than see you in serious pain. So if you really want to kill me then go ahead, but, before you do, please just answer one question.”</p><p>“What?” Jeremy said cautiously.</p><p>“Was it really all fake? Was all that stuff you said to me just lies? I mean, I guess it probably is, but… I guess it just really felt real for a while there, you know? And those things you said about the crew seemed so genuine,” Ryan asked quietly, sounding and looking much more vulnerable than Jeremy had ever seen him before.</p><p>Instead of answering, Jeremy replied in a venomous voice,</p><p>“Haywood, tell me right now this isn’t some sort of sick way to try and get me to let my guard down.”</p><p>To Jeremy’s surprise, Ryan looked genuinely hurt and sharply drew back from the shorter man.</p><p>“Of course not,” Ryan whispered.</p><p>“Fine. If you actually love me, then tell me what the fuck is going on between you and Ray,” Jeremy spat.</p><p>Ryan’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.</p><p>“Me and Ray…?” he murmured, trying to understand what Jeremy meant, then his eyes widened in realization as he quickly said, “Holy shit. No. There’s nothing like that between us.”</p><p>“Really?” Jeremy responded in a disbelieving voice.</p><p>“Really! Shit, I love Ray to death but I would never feel that way about him. We used to be really close and I haven’t seen him in forever, so it was just really hard for me to see him in a situation like this. Especially considering this kind of situation was my first interaction with the Fake AH Crew. I love the crew, but it’s not exactly a great memory, you know?” Ryan explained quickly.</p><p>“...Really?” Jeremy repeated, frowning deeply.</p><p>“Well, yeah, he’s like a brother to me,” Ryan said, once again becoming rather confused.</p><p>Jeremy looked disoriented, as if his whole world had been turned upside down. Ryan wasn’t sure what to do and was afraid to try and approach any closer, so he just frowned and waited for the younger man to start speaking again.</p><p>“Prove it,” Jeremy said finally. “Say it again and prove it to me.”</p><p>“Say what?” Ryan responded, his head starting to ache from the confusion. “Say I love you? Because I’ll say it as many times as you want me to if that’s what it takes to prove it. I love you, I love you, I love you. I know I shouldn’t, but I love you.”</p><p>Jeremy looked to be on the verge of tears. His body suddenly relaxed from its tense stance and he almost crumpled to the floor, but Ryan rushed forward to catch him before he hit the ground, setting him up in a loose sitting position. Ryan wanted desperately to hug the younger man, who was now trembling, but he was scared to do anything.</p><p>“I love you too,” Jeremy replied in a shaky voice as tears started to slide down his cheeks.</p><p>“You do?” Ryan asked unsurely. “Does this mean it wasn’t all fake?”</p><p>Jeremy nodded weakly and started to speak.</p><p>“I went to Los Angeles for a vacation a while back. Those people… FH… They caught me pickpocketing people on the streets and were impressed by my skill and my ability to lie, so they recruited me to help them find Ray by infiltrating the Fake AH Crew. I agreed, of course, because I was bored.</p><p>“The things they told me about you were awful. Stuff like how you were ruthless and would kill or torture people just for fun even if they had done nothing wrong. But when I actually met you, you were so much different than I had imagined. I was afraid of what would happen if I betrayed them, but I was also afraid of what would happen to you if I didn’t. I did continue giving them information for a while, but eventually I realized I cared too much about you to keep betraying you.</p><p>“Then, I found out that you’re a cop. It surprised and hurt me at first, and obviously that was when I decided to leave for a while because I was upset and overwhelmed. I also panicked and told FH your last name and the location of Ray, which I had overheard Geoff mention a while back. I thought they wouldn’t be able to find me but then you decided to follow me, which, while incredibly touching, led them straight to me. They sent you a fake text message and set up a fake kidnapping situation, then told me they left you a note talking about Ray. They said it would prove that you would leave me for him without a question. Clearly, that all worked out and what they said proved to be true, but-”</p><p>“They lied. I didn’t leave you for Ray,” Ryan interrupted, “and he wasn’t even the reason I came back. I found out the text message was faked and I immediately went back to Matt’s house. The note was really vague and I thought it was talking about you, and the crew tracked your phone so I could come save you. I didn’t even know Ray was involved.”</p><p>Jeremy had seemed mildly irritated by the interruption at first, but when Ryan had finished speaking he just looked lost.</p><p>“But… They said...”</p><p>“They lied, Jeremy. It’s your choice on who to believe, though, so are you gonna trust them, or me?” Ryan said with a gentle voice.</p><p>Jeremy paused to think, looking torn. Then, with a resolute nod to himself, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Ryan’s lips. Ryan immediately melted into it, kissing Jeremy back passionately, like he had never wanted to do anything more in his life. When Jeremy finally pulled back, he gave Ryan a soft smile and said,</p><p>“Of course I choose you, Ryan.”</p><p>“Cool,” Ryan replied, suddenly grinning wickedly, “what’s the plan to get out of here?”</p><p>“I say stealth mode. We should just try to get out of here without being seen, only shoot if we have to, and only kill if absolutely necessary. Our DNA is all over so we don’t want to leave evidence if they’re dead and we know they won’t go to the cops if they’re alive, of course. Oh, and why don’t we leave a note telling them why we left?” Jeremy quickly answered, looking excited.</p><p>“I love it. I love <em>you</em>. Let’s do it.”</p><p>After quickly tracking down a notepad and a pen, the two men wrote their note. Ryan then grabbed his jacket off the ground while Jeremy picked up his gun, and they snuck up the stairs. They paused at the door to listen for voices, but heard none.</p><p>“I’ll go first,” Jeremy whispered, “because if one of them sees me then they won’t be suspicious at first.”</p><p>Ryan nodded and Jeremy slipped out the door. All seemed to be going well, until Ryan heard a voice call out to Jeremy, saying,</p><p>“Hey, what took so long down there? Did you mess that annoying bitch up?”</p><p>Ryan peeked past the door just enough to see Jeremy, who was looking completely relaxed.</p><p>“Oh yeah, I messed him up pretty good. Took some time to make sure he was actually down, though,” Jeremy said casually.</p><p>“Show me,” the person instructed, and Ryan ducked back behind the door as he heard their footsteps approaching.</p><p>For a split second, Ryan worried if Jeremy was actually going to lead the guy past the door, then he heard a loud thud. Jeremy opened the door wider and motioned for Ryan to come out, and Ryan saw the other person was now on the ground, unconscious. They slipped past his body and began heading to the door, but froze as they heard someone yell,</p><p>“What was that?!”</p><p>They watched a person round the corner and Ryan quickly pulled out his gun and shot them in the foot without thinking. There were some more confused yells and a few other people appeared. Jeremy quickly turned to Ryan and said,</p><p>“On second thought, maybe stealth mode isn’t our thing. Let’s just run.”</p><p>Ryan nodded and the two started sprinting. When they got outside, Ryan motioned for Jeremy to follow him and ran in the direction of his car. They got to it fairly quickly and hopped in, praying no one would catch up before they could start it.</p><p>“Sweet ride,” Jeremy remarked sarcastically as Ryan tried for a third time to start the car that seemed to not want to go anywhere.</p><p>“Shut up, it’s not mine. And it was working fine this morning,” Ryan shot back, sounding annoyed.</p><p>Jeremy glanced at him nervously for a moment, fearful that he had actually annoyed him, then relaxed as he saw the smile on Ryan’s face.</p><p>“Why’d you steal a piece of junk like this?” Jeremy joked.</p><p>“Because this ‘piece of junk’,” Ryan replied as the car finally started up, “goes pretty damn fast when it actually works.”</p><p>They took off, peeling away from the spot that Ryan had parked. Jeremy let out a gleeful yell as he watched the house fade in the distance. He rolled down the window and stuck his head out, laughing as the wind hit his face. Ryan glanced at him and smiled, a warm feeling growing in his chest.</p><p>“This is amazing, Ryan,” Jeremy laughed happily.</p><p>“What is?” Ryan questioned.</p><p>“Just, you know,” Jeremy said, grinning, “everything about this. It almost feels like the heist. Our adrenaline is pumping, we kinda just committed a crime, there are people after us, and it’s just us two. It’s amazing. You’re amazing.”</p><p>“No, Jeremy, <em>we’re</em> amazing,” Ryan replied with a wink, then broke out into laughter.</p><p>“The Battle Buddies are unstoppable!” Jeremy yelled out the window with a huge smile on his face.</p><p>“I love you, Jeremy. I love you so much,” Ryan chuckled.</p><p>“I love you too, Ryan,” Jeremy giggled in response.</p><p>Ryan felt his heart leap in joy. One of his hands left the steering wheel and made its way toward Jeremy’s hand to hold it tightly. Jeremy let out a joyful woop as he continued leaning his head out of the window, then gave Ryan’s hand a gentle squeeze and grinned at him. Ryan glanced at the younger man again for a moment to smile back, then returned his eyes to the road.</p><p>When they arrived back at Matt’s house, they quickly jumped out of the car and ran inside, knowing they didn’t have much time before FH caught up with them. Matt and Trevor were ecstatic to see Jeremy was alive and well and the three quickly exchanged relieved hugs.</p><p>“We can’t stay long,” Jeremy said as he pulled away from the hugs, “because we’re kinda being followed right now. And honestly, you guys should probably leave for a while too, just to be safe.”</p><p>“Can you at least explain what’s going on?” Matt argued.</p><p>“There’s no time,” Ryan said, then suddenly perked up and added, “but maybe you guys could come with us?”</p><p>Jeremy turned toward Ryan in confusion.</p><p>“Can we do that? Would the crew be okay with you just bringing two random people back?”</p><p>“Just trust me, babe,” Ryan replied coolly.</p><p>Jeremy blushed and nodded, then looked back at Matt and Trevor, who shrugged in agreement, clearly trying hard not to laugh at him.</p><p>“Let’s go, then,” Ryan ordered. “Only pack necessities, we can always come back later. We need to get out of here ASAP, though.”</p><p>Matt, Trevor, and Jeremy quickly split off to gather some items, while Ryan, who had obviously already packed, supervised to make sure they only grabbed what they needed. They then loaded everything into Ryan’s stolen car and took off, flying down the road toward the airport. They were home free.</p><p>After a nervous wait at the airport and several hours up in the air, they had finally arrived in Los Santos, where Ryan quickly hailed a cab that took them back to the penthouse. When they got there, Matt and Trevor followed Ryan and Jeremy somewhat nervously, unsure of what kind of people they were about to meet.</p><p>“Surprise!” Ryan announced as he threw the door opened and waltzed in.</p><p>Geoff jumped in surprise, then frowned as he saw the two people who seemed to almost be trying to hide behind Jeremy but were failing miserably due to being much taller.</p><p>“Who are they? Why are they here?” he asked immediately.</p><p>“That’s Matt and Trevor,” Ryan replied, pointing at each man respectively, “and don’t worry, you’ll love them. They’ll fit right in.”</p><p>“Why are they here?” Geoff repeated.</p><p>“They needed somewhere to go. You trust me, don’t you?” Ryan said, raising an eyebrow expectantly.</p><p>Geoff sighed and nodded, then got up to go to the kitchen.</p><p>“Grab some diet cokes for Ryan and I while you’re in there, will ya?” Jeremy called after him.</p><p>Geoff groaned but obliged, and Ryan grinned at Jeremy before turning back to Trevor and Matt and saying,</p><p>“Welcome to the penthouse.”</p><p>Geoff quickly called a crew meeting for Ryan and Jeremy to explain what happened. He decided to allow Trevor and Matt to join the meeting once he realized they were just as in the dark as most of the crew was, and no one bothered to argue. After Ryan and Jeremy finished explaining, everyone was silent for several moments before Geoff eventually said,</p><p>“Ryan, could I talk to you for a moment?”</p><p>“Sure, I guess,” Ryan replied.</p><p>The two stood up and stepped out of the room for a moment, and Ryan paused to give Jeremy a quick comforting smile before Geoff closed the door. Geoff turned toward Ryan with a serious expression on his face and crossed his arms over his chest.</p><p>“Alright, Ryan, I know you really like this guy and you really want to believe him, but are you really sure we can trust him? After all that?”</p><p>“Are you fucking serious, Geoff?” Ryan snapped back. “Of course I fucking trust him ‘after all that’. You weren’t there, you didn’t see how he acted. Do you not trust me?”</p><p>Geoff breathed a deep sigh and rubbed his temples with his fingertips.</p><p>“I do trust you, Ryan, I just want to make sure nothing like this happens again.”</p><p>“Don’t forget, Geoff, you’re the one who hired him in the first place,” Ryan pointed out.</p><p>“I know, but-”</p><p>“I trust him. If you trust me, then just drop the suspicion, okay?”</p><p>There was a warning tone in Ryan’s voice. Geoff frowned and narrowed his eyes.</p><p>“There’s something you’re not telling me,” he said.</p><p>Ryan nodded in confirmation, but instead of responding he just walked back into the meeting room and took his seat next to Jeremy. Geoff followed him in to scold him, then paused as he noticed Ryan whisper something into Jeremy’s ear. He squinted as Jeremy whispered something back, then, with a shock, he realized what Jeremy had whispered. Clear as day, he had read Jeremy’s lips saying the words,</p><p>
  <em>“I love you, too.”</em>
</p><p>Ryan noticed Geoff staring in shock and tried to keep himself from blushing. Geoff said nothing, just placed a hand over his mouth and took his place next to Jack. Jack raised an inquisitive eyebrow at him, but Geoff just shook his head in response.</p><p>“So… Is the meeting over or not? Cause I’m hungry as fuck,” Michael questioned boredly.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah. It’s over. Go eat,” Geoff mumbled and waved his hands dismissively.</p><p>Everyone stood and began walking out, except for Geoff, who remained seated, and Jeremy, who quietly told Ryan he’d catch up then hung back for a moment. He walked over to Geoff, seeming nervous.</p><p>“Hey, I just wanna say-”</p><p>“If you hurt Ryan, I’m going to fucking murder you,” Geoff interrupted.</p><p>“I won’t hurt him, I promise,” Jeremy said quickly, “and I just wanted to tell you that I’m willing to do anything to prove it if that’s what it takes to earn your trust. Matt and Trevor will, too. They’re actually both really smart, even if they don’t always seem like it. And they don’t have to stay for long, but Matt’s house isn’t really safe right now so Ryan suggested they just come with us. I think you’ll really like them, though.”</p><p>“Relax, kid, you sound like you’re about to have a panic attack,” Geoff replied with a concerned frown.</p><p>“I’m okay, I just…” Jeremy took a deep breath. “I really love Ryan. And I really don’t want to fuck this up.”</p><p>Geoff sighed, then gave the younger man a tired smile.</p><p>“I know, Jeremy.”</p><p>Jeremy’s shoulders relaxed from tension he hadn’t even realized was there. He breathed a sigh of relief, then nodded and walked out of the room. Ryan was waiting for him outside the door and took his hand the moment he was within reach.</p><p>“Are you alright? You look shaken up,” Ryan asked immediately, his eyes searching Jeremy’s face in worry.</p><p>“I’m fine,” Jeremy laughed softly, “don’t worry.”</p><p>Ryan hesitated, still searching Jeremy’s face for any sign that he was upset, then nodded once he was satisfied. Jeremy squeezed his hand reassuringly and reached up to give him a kiss. Ryan kissed him back for a moment, then started gently pulling him toward another room. Jeremy thought at first that they were going to the kitchen to get some of the pizza that had just arrived, but Ryan continued past the kitchen and led him to his room.</p><p>He pulled Jeremy inside and closed the door, then kissed him hard. Jeremy immediately kissed back, then whined as Ryan went to deepen the kiss. Ryan pulled away, frowning.</p><p>“I’m hungry,” Jeremy mumbled.</p><p>“I know, Jeremy,” Ryan chuckled, then pressed another quick kiss to Jeremy’s lips before turning around and moving toward his luggage to start quickly fumbling through it.</p><p>“What are you looking for?” Jeremy asked, trying to peek over Ryan’s shoulder to see what he was doing.</p><p>“Found it,” Ryan said, sounding excited.</p><p>He turned around and smiled at Jeremy, holding something gently in his hand. Before Jeremy could respond, Ryan reached forward with his other hand to grab the younger man’s chin and pull his face closer to kiss him once again. Jeremy raised his eyebrows.</p><p>“Well, are you going to show me what it is?” he said.</p><p>“Just listen to me first,” Ryan scolded, then smiled gently and grabbed one of Jeremy’s hands. “I really love you, Jeremy, and I want to make sure that we’re on the same page, so… Will you be my boyfriend?”</p><p>Jeremy’s face flushed a deep red.</p><p>“Oh my God, Ryan. Of course,” he replied, smiling and blushing.</p><p>“Good,” Ryan said.</p><p>He stepped behind Jeremy and placed a necklace around his neck, then spun him around to look at it. He smiled, looking satisfied, then pressed his forehead to the younger man’s for a moment and ran a thumb across his cheek sweetly. He then gave Jeremy one more kiss and walked out of the room. Jeremy glanced down at the necklace to see it was a simple chain with a charm shaped like a shield. Upon further inspection, he smiled as he discovered the shield had a small skull on the front of it. He rubbed it gently with his thumb, then left the room to catch up with Ryan, smiling even wider as he thought about how he could now call the older man his boyfriend.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Back at the house in which FH had been staying at, the people there were feeling particularly frustrated. One of them had a bullet in their foot, another one had what was probably a concussion, and both of their captives plus a traitor had escaped their grasp. Overall, it had been a rather unproductive day and they felt miserable. They didn’t notice it until a while after the chase, but eventually they went back down into the basement and found the note, sitting alone on the chair. It read,</p><p>
  <em>FH,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Thank you for allowing us some time alone so we could figure out your lies. Really, we appreciate it. Now, we not only know who we can actually trust, but we have also freed someone from you once again and taken back a ‘weapon’ that you thought was yours.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Sincerely,</em>
  <br/>
  <em>The Battle Buddies</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I really hope you all enjoy this ending. I almost ended it earlier and I also considered continuing it after this, but after a lot of internal debate I decided this would be the best end to it. I do have another longer story + a bunch of little soulmate AU short stories cooking up right now, though, so stay tuned for more :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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